Designated moments can serve as important reminders (communion, Passover…).
But what would it be like to treat each day as if it were something special?
In Happy Valentine’s Year, Christina Holder writes:
Jesus and His followers didn’t have to create days to motivate or to force or to even guilt-trip people into encouraging or thanking or appreciating one another. Jesus simply loved people where they were. He gave people what they needed during their most grievous times. He surprised them with simple acts of generosity and compassion.
He didn’t wait until International Widows Day (June 23) to reach out to vulnerable women who felt unloved and abandoned or World Leprosy Day (last Sunday in January) to heal men and women who had been pushed out of society because of a skin disease (Luke 5:12-14) or National Hunger Awareness Day (1st Tuesday of June) to feed people who were starving (Luke 9:12-27). He just showed up at people’s houses—to eat dinner with them, to heal them, to teach them.
Every day, He made himself available to people. He went out of His way to bring them comfort and healing and security. He left His family as a young boy and spent hours discussing God in the temple with religious leaders. He traveled a far distance to be with Mary and Martha when Lazarus died. And in the biggest display of love, He endured a brutal death, dying on a cross so that you and I could be saved. Jesus spent His days sacrificing for other people. He made the little things count, and that made the big things count even more.
And think of ‘forever moments’ in non-holiday contexts:
Transitions….life is a transition…it’s not just the momentary moves, job changes, or life stages…once we ______ , life will be good. No. There will be the next transition, and the next….but for perspective, this whole life is vapor mist…
Ministry. Ministry is not limited to service projects and technical ministry, but should be a way of life. I need Thee every hour. A similar thing could be said for worship.
Being Nice. My mom has given the advice to ’remember the Safeway checker.’ We can be momentarily, superficially nice to people we don’t know in public; we should also treat those close to us nicely. I believe she’s also given the advice to not let your hair down.
Also, we should not only be nice when it is advantageous for us or to the ‘targeted’ people being outreached to. I believe there is a verse in the Bible that tells us to do good to everyone, especially to the saints.
Am I good at practicing ’special moments’ in a ‘forever’ sort of way? No. But this is just a mindset to consider…
2/20 update: I guess the ‘big picture’, ‘top down’, ‘wholistic’ type stuff might relate to this…it’s easy for me to focus on tiny unnecessary things while neglecting the big picture…
Filed under: Eternal Lens
