Pastor's PenPoint - "Tick Tock Tick" - October 2011

"I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again."

You've probably seen this quotation many times. It's over 200 year old and from the Quakers.

May I ask you a question I have asked myself recently: If you knew that today was the last day of your life, who would you call? What would you say? What act of kindness would you provide? What broken relationship would you try to heal? Whenever we ask a question like that, it always tends to be theoretical because deep inside, most of us expect to live many more years. That's certainly a reasonable expectation, and I hope it comes true for you. But perhaps we should take Martin Luther's advice to live every day with the day of our death placarded before our eyes. Leadership experts call that "living with the end in view."

I wish to everyone who reads these words long life and good health, but I can't guarantee it for myself or for my own family ... much less for anyone else. Things can change so quickly. Just one phone call and life will never be the same again.

We can reach out to people around us. There are things we need to say now:

• "I love you."
• "I'm sorry."
• "Please forgive me."
• "Thank you."
• "I miss you."
• "I wanted to see you one more time."
• "I wanted to squeeze your hand."
• "I wanted to give you a hug."
• "I wanted to hear you laugh."
• "I wanted to see your beautiful face."

Others may need to get serious about our relationship with Jesus Christ. "I'm going to serve the Lord some day," we say. If you are going to serve him someday, why not today? What do you gain by putting him off? How can you be certain that when tomorrow comes, you will still want to serve the Lord?


If you intend to serve the Lord someday, why not now? Time moves fast ... tick ... tock ... tick ...


Grace ~ Pastor Todd