.by Rev. Bob Johnson
As I think of 2003 coming, I have mixed feelings of hope and fear. There is much hope and there is foreboding. What will 2003 hold? I suppose as I get a bit older and pass that magical age of 65, the days of my life seem a bit shorter, perhaps the clock moves faster. It sure seems to. It is difficult to say just what forces are at work. What I am convinced of is that God desires that we seek peace and not war (Isaiah 2:4) and proves that by sending Jesus, the Prince of Peace, to us.
Perhaps you, like me, have purchased a new date book. Most of the squares are vacant at least temporarily. Even as I write, I know that some of those squares of time are already filled. Each time I fill a space I will be making a decision as to its importance. Some will be personal and some will be a part of my ministry. Strange as it may seem, all have something to do with my relationship to God eternally, even though they are done in this world and this life. No matter how full my calendar gets, I will live one square at a time. I will try to remember that worrying about tomorrow, while I cannot eliminate worry, may in fact take away precious moments of life and relationship today. (Matthew 6:25-34).
Yes, 2003 is coming, and will probably be here shortly after you read this,
maybe before. Each square of the New Year will have an invisible door leading
to the next day. At a silent stroke, the door opens and I will be pulled through
to the next time slot. It is as if, by the power of some magnet, I am pulled
into each new day. There are moments I would wish to return to, but I know that
I cannot. I must live today, but I know that, like it or not, I will one day
walk into a square and there will be no invisible door to the next square, at
least not in relationship to this life—it will be the terminal square in
my life. In the words of a poet friend of mine, we are all terminal on this
planet.
At that moment either I will know the God of all the universe or I won’t
recognize the Divine Spirit. I will have come to believe so thoroughly, that
I will “know” that in Jesus I have a picture of the God of all of
life, or I won’t. If my belief has grown and become part and parcel of
my being, then my last square of life will be an introduction to a world I can
barely imagine, for it will be a world free of disease, fear, apprehension and
worry. It is the world God is constructing even as I write. (2 Corinthians
5:1-10)
For now however, I am confined to this body in this time and place. How will I fill the squares God chooses to give me? How will you fill your squares of life? The frightening part is that God gives us the choice. We can make good or bad choices. I suspect I will make a few negative ones, maybe a whole bunch, for which I will seek forgiveness. My only hope is to ask guidance from Jesus Lord and Savior, not when I feel like it, but day by day, praying always that God’s Spirit will live in me and be expressed through my words and actions. If I do, and I hope you will, too, I believe that nothing that will happen in 2003 that will be able to separate me, hopefully you, from the love of God in Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:31-29.
Have a Happy New Year.
Do you have a question or a statement? Send email to Pastor Bob Johnson at
.