Work While it is Day

One thing we all know is that life is a gift.
One thing we do not do is act like we know what we know.
With the untimely and unfortunate death of our member James Chapmyn, it hit me again that life is fragile and fleeting. We are here now, but there is no guarantee we will be here tomorrow, or even a minute from now.
What do I mean when I say we don’t act like we know life is a gift? We take it for granted. We take it for granted that we will be here, that our loved ones will be here and that we have time to get things right.
Someone said that the worst gift a person can have is the gift of time, because we take it for granted, squander it and waste it.
Too often, when a loved one dies, we are consumed with guilt. Yes, we are sad he or she is gone, but we are consumed with guilt because we know we did not love like we should have, forgiven like we should have, or even taken care of this one who has transitioned like we should have. We said things we didn’t mean, did things we should not have done and not done things we should have, never thinking that we might not have the opportunity to “fix it” before that person was taken from us.
We take our own lives for granted, too. We are always in “gonna” mode. We’re always putting stuff off that we should not, saying we will start tomorrow, or next week, or whenever. Then, the Angel of Death comes, not respecting our intentions but noting our actual lives, but by then, it’s too late.
If nothing else, James’ death ought to wake us up. We are here to love God, and to serve God. We have now, right now, to do it. James worked for God while he was here … he loved being in the spotlight and we knew that was part of who he was, but he also served with love. When we went to New Orleans, he was here at 4 in the morning, cooking and serving a full breakfast for us. When I said we needed a piano, James went out looking and the piano we have he found at a flea market. He called me and told me to hurry up, come down and see it and play it. He made pins of our Rose Window which we give out to visitors. I can still see him grinning, walking up the sidewalk, carrying these pins, glad to be in the service.
There is a song that says “I believe I’ll testify while I have a chance, ‘cause I may not have a chance anymore.” This is the day that the Lord has made, and this moment is the moment we have been given to serve. We are being called to serve more and more, to leave the comfort of these four walls and go out into the community. There are people who need to know that God is real, and that Christians are people with the heart of God in them. Not a single effort that we make for God will go unnoticed; conversely, every action or gift that we withhold from God, for whatever reason, is noticed by God, too.
The Bible says that Jesus will come like a “thief in the night.” Do not concentrate on what you do not have. Concentrate, rather, on what you do have and give your all to God. Testify, while you have a chance, ‘cause you may not have a chance anymore.
God bless you all. I love you.

Pastor Smith