Good morning, my dear friends,
One of the common results of the hectic pace of contemporary life is the imaginary notion that the best of life is over the next hill, a few years ahead, or just down the road. The only trouble is when we condition ourselves to believe that happiness is always in the future, the future never comes. There’s an old saying which says, “If you aren’t happy now, you never will be.” The point of that is clear. We need to find the good things in life as we go along. All too often we spend our time getting ready to live and then discover there is no time left to live.
Howard Murray has a story about an old mountaineer who offered a friend a bit of sage advice. The traveler had come by to ask directions and appeared to be in a great rush. “What’s your hurry?” asked the mountaineer. “You’re gonna run by more than you’ll ever catch.” This is a quaint way of suggesting that it’s possible to miss the best things as we go along and never live to find the good days we so relentlessly pursue.
One of the oldest stories in the world is about a boy who lived a long time ago in a remote corner of the world. His home was a rocky hillside farm. Somewhere in the distance was a city; its towers glittered in the sparkling sunlight. He thought life would be better over there, so he went off with all he had, only to discover that life was as hectic in the city as it had been at home. He slowed his pace a bit and looked back. In retrospect he saw the old home place in a new light. He realized he had run away from the very things he had wanted to find.
My advice this week is to start living now. It may be all the living you will have time to do.
Don’t pass by what you are really trying to find,
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
