>

It has been some years now that with the help of the Lord, I have been learning how to live fully every day, every minute. I remember when my children were little and we were in that season of our lives when we ran all day to all those extra classes. We used to live under the pressure of the clock, the constant tic-tac that steals away moments of joy.

But living in the moment, enjoying the minutes, living fully each one of them, is not necessarily a godly thing to do. Actually, it may keep us from seeing beyond the minute and into eternity.

When our children were little I had to teach them about time, time-lines were hanging all over our walls, and we had to teach them about the calendar, the months, days, hours, minutes. Now they are older and we must teach them to live with their eyes fixed on what is not in that time-line. We are teaching them that what matters the most is not the moment, per se, but eternity.

Before I keep on going, please don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe that how we live every minute counts. I believe that our lives are made of minutes, and for the life we live in that sequence of minutes we will give an account to God.

But when we live only with eyes for the moment, we may find ourselves believing that we are the main character in God’s story.

Remember Martha and Mary and how they responded when their brother Lazarus was ill and then died (John 11 please read it all.). They were living in the moment, and for a moment they thought that because they were Jesus’ friends, and Jesus loved their brother, they were the main character in the story and Jesus had to come and help them. But Jesus didn’t live for the moment, He lived with His eyes fixed on eternity, on his Heavenly Father; He says on verse 4:

“This illness does not lead to death, It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it”

Having this goal in mind “when he, {Jesus}, heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was”. 

Michael Horton says,

“In terms of the unfolding plot, Lazarus is a character in Jesus’ story, not vice versa. The glorification of the Son as the Messiah is the real “show” here, as was the case with all of the miracles. They are signs, not ends in themselves.”

“Lazarus had to die in order for the greater miracle to occur. There is something more important than the healing of his friend. Jesus knew the great work he would accomplish in the power of the Spirit when he came finally to Bethany. It is like Elijah pouring water on the fire pit, just to make sure God’s glorious power will be obvious. As the greater Elijah, Jesus was engaged in a cosmic contest between Yahweh and the serpent. That was the larger story behind all these other stories. “

How many times do we live “in the moment”, forgetting that each one of those moments, good or bad, are not an end on themselves? All those moments are part of a larger story that has not been unveiled before our eyes, a story that ultimately will bring glory to our Triune God. He is the main character of the story.

When I give thanks for the little things that make up my day, when I see a beautiful sunset, or beautiful bees playing in a fountain; when I see my sister carrying a baby in her womb, and my son coming from behind to kiss me; when I see how my husband loves me every minute, and how blessed I am to have a full pantry, I need to raise my eyes and look beyond the moment, beyond the time-line and remind myself that all these blessings come to me, not because I am the main character, but because in all these, God will be glorified. It all happens “so that the Son of God may be glorified through it”.

And the same is true, when the moments we are going through are more like those moments that Martha and Mary went through, moments of confusion, pain, uncertainty. When we expect Jesus  to come because He is our Lord, our Saviour, our friend, and He doesn’t and we don’t know what to think. Let us keep in mind, sisters, that those moments are only part of a whole story that is beyond our sight, beyond our minutes. Those moments are part of God’s grand plan to bring all things subject to Him, and to bring glory to His name. We are not the main character. Our moments, our times are in His hand.

Under His sun and by His grace,