Ephesians 5:15-16
Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
The Constancy of God
Jesus never changes. He is the same today as He was yesterday and will be the same into all eternity (Heb. 13:8). But we change over time, and it can be for the better or for the worse. Did you ever have a bad day? Silly question, I know. Maybe I should ask it this way: Did you have a bad day yesterday? If so, what can you do to improve it today? Actually, there are a lot of things that you can improve on today over yesterday. For example, you can serve someone today where you didn’t yesterday, you can call someone today when you missed the chance yesterday, and you can visit someone today when you weren’t able to yesterday. We can’t change the past, but we can change today–one minute at a time.
Tomorrow’s Yesterday
What is yesterday? Today is tomorrow’s yesterday, so we can change our yesterday today and make it better tomorrow. Does that make sense? Our life is only a vapor, anyway. It is here in what seems a moment, and then it’s gone (James 4:14). Grab today by the horns and make it count. That is all we can do, for we can do nothing about yesterday except apologize to God for squandering it. Even today is like grass in all its glory; it’s here today but gone tomorrow (1 Pet. 1:24). So I say why not make the most of it as much as you possibly can. You can make a difference today, I have no doubt.
Making a Difference Today
When we visited the local nursing home the other day, it was only a small amount of time, but we made a difference in a few people’s lives. To me, pure religion is exactly what James was talking about: visiting the orphans and widows in their affliction (James 1:27). How many, may I ask, are widows and orphans in the local nursing home? I venture to say nearly every one of them. We hold church services for these precious people on Sunday afternoons. Since statistics show that only about four in ten receive visitors, this means in an average nursing home of say 400 residents, about 160 of them never receive visitors, never have anyone outside of the staff or residents to talk with, or never have anyone to sit down and listen to them share their life. You can make a huge difference in the life of someone today, so why not do it? Don’t worry about yesterday, which you can’t do anything about.
A Closing Prayer
Father, You are near to the widows and orphans, so help me to draw near to them, too. God, You are a father to the fatherless and protector of the widows and the orphans (Psalm 68:5), so help me to improve their day today, while it is still called today, and in Jesus’ name I pray.
Amen
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