Your Time Is Now
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Do you believe that the world is really messed up? Is everything on the news bad? Are the airwaves over saturated with hate crimes, violent protests, political unrest, moral decay, stories of drug lords, school shootings, car bombings, stories of sexual deviants, and global nuclear sabre rattling? Are you tired of all of this? Maybe you have already cancelled your cable or satellite subscription. Perhaps you have unsubscribed from the local newspaper to avoid reading about all of these things. Before you completely detach yourself from the world, please read this important message……..
Socrates (469–399 B.C.) has long been credited with the following quote: “The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”
As it turns out, this was never a quote from Socrates, but rather it was excerpted from a student, working on his Cambridge dissertation, which was published in 1907. He was attempting to make the point that each subsequent generation sees the next generation in a negative light and they assume the world is going to hell.
Some people look at modern events, such as extreme weather conditions, earthquakes, tsunamis or new viral outbreaks, and they immediately attribute these things to the wrath of God. They believe that God is punishing the world for turning away from Him. Perhaps He is, I don’t know. I choose to see God in a more caring, Fatherly way, who mourns these events of our broken world as much as we do. I choose not to believe that God makes bad things happen. But, however you choose to see it, it does not impact my premise today.
The fact remains that you are alive at this time in history. You had no choice in that decision. You can choose to barricade yourself from the world. You can boycott movies because of their content. You can try to bury your head in the sand to avoid knowing what is going on in the world. But what does this accomplish? The only thing necessary for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing.
Before you disengage completely from this world, can I encourage you to consider something first? Out of all millennia and throughout the course of all world events, God himself chose you to be alive NOW! THIS IS YOUR TIME! Did God make a mistake? Was He wrong?
Maybe the more important question to ask ourselves is this: Why now? What does He expect me to do in this world, at this time? I cannot answer that question for you, but I can say with certainty, that He does not have you here, at this time, to isolate yourself from everything that is going on.
In fact, God has you here for exactly the opposite of isolation. You are here now on purpose. God has a reason for your life and He wants it to be lived fully right now. He has equipped you with the truth of Scripture and the knowledge of His mercy and love. He has called you to go forth to proclaim His good news. God has not presented you with an unbearable or an unattainable mission.
This is our reality. God chose us to live during these times. God knew what they would be like for us. He didn’t choose us to live in ancient times nor during the middle ages. He chose us for today.
God wants us to be merciful. He wants us to be peacemakers. He has promised blessings to us if we are persecuted for His sake. God has chosen us to be salt for the earth in this generation. He wants our lives to be lived not as lamps placed under a bushel basket but rather as lamps that are set on a lampstand for all to see. He has called us to shine before others so that, through our lives, we can bring glory to our Heavenly Father. Matthew 5:3-16
This is our time! This is our calling! We are equipped! Now, what will we do?
Father, grant me the courage to live my life in the manner you choose for me to live. Help me to make a positive impact in your Kingdom today, amen.
As always, I love to read your comments below as well as hear from you personally by clicking here.
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This is the day that the Lord has made. Today. This day.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Amen
Thanks so much, Brian. I only hope that everyone who reads this will act upon it. We all, sometimes, have a tendency to do just what you said and “bury our heads in the sand” because we hate hearing about all the violence and hatred going on. What does that solve??
You are such a blessing, my friend.
Jane
Thank you for your post and for your kind words.
God bless
Brian
Awesome and inspiring….perfect words for a Catholic high school teacher to read during Catholic schools week when the “winter doldrums” have set in with my students! Thanks Brian…the other quote you cited was by Edmund Burke….don’t expect a history teacher to let that go!
Bill
Thanks for posting. I am glad today’s words spoke to you.
As for the quote, I choose not to attribute that other quote to Burke, because upon close scrutiny that quote is attributable to at least a dozen different individuals. It hard to determine who the original source was. Thanks for mentioning it though.
Encouraging word today Brian. As you may know, The Cason Group’s Purpose Statement is: “To provide a platform for employees to serve, to be challenged, and to be a light in the marketplace.” I have to remind myself daily that my life is about more than the temporal things–its about more than just waking up and going to work. It’s figuring out on a daily basis who I have in my “radius” that I can impact positively, who can I attempt to be “a light” to? Thanks for the encouragement. Carpe diem!
Brian
Thanks for your post. What a cool purpose statement to work by. May God’s blessings be with you.
Brian
Thanks for the message- it’s just what I needed to hear today! God Bless – Therese
Therese
I am glad to know that the Holy Spirit touched you with these words. God bless
Brian