Putting It Off

If a genie popped out of a bottle right now, right in front of me, and offered me one wish, I’d be tempted to ask for an end to Winter and for Spring to begin here in Australia.

I’m not a fan of the cold. I prefer my skies blue to grey, my winds to be warming not biting, and for the maximum hours of daylight possible.

I look at my garden, becoming increasingly unkempt, and find myself saying, “I’ll get to that when the weather warms up a bit.” I look at the mess in my garage, and think “I’ll clean all that up when the weather’s a bit warmer.” I see the forlorn look on my dog’s face, and say to him, “I’ll take you for a walk when the days get a bit longer, and a bit warmer.”

I have a lot of things being put off, waiting for a change in the weather.

We do this a lot in life also, don’t we? Put things off until circumstances change. Until the season of life changes perhaps.

“When such and such happens, then I will…”

“Once so and so does this, then I will….”

“I’ll be happy when …”

“One day I’m going to…”

When Jesus lived on earth, he invited various people to follow him. Some, like the disciples Simon, Andrew, James and John, left what they were doing immediately and followed. Yet others put it off, agreeing to follow Jesus but only after they had attended to a family situation or a personal issue.

Jesus got a bit annoyed with them, and told one would-be follower, “No procrastination. No backward looks. You can’t put God’s Kingdom off till tomorrow. Seize the day.” (Luke 9:62 – The Message)

The aspects of life such as love, forgiveness, reconciliation, meeting the needs of others are things that shouldn’t be put off until tomorrow. Doing the things that God requires and values shouldn’t be determined by your present circumstances or season. Maybe the gardening can wait, or cleaning up a messy garage can be put off, but when it comes to people and relationships, and the things of God, we need to seize the day.

Every day is a gift from God to be used for His glory. Every day contains opportunities waiting to be grasped. So begin each day with a prayer of thanks to God for the chance to make a difference in the lives of others. Whether it be Winter, Spring, Summer or Autumn, sunshine or rain, don’t put off the people stuff, the stuff of God’s Kingdom. Instead, seize the day.

www.salvationarmy.org.au/mornington