"Today" And Its Importance

A question we need to ask ourselves from time to time is, How do I spend the blessed currency of time “today?” “Today” is something each one living on the earth has in common. While multitudes of precious souls are being born into this world “today” ..... multitudes of precious souls are also hurdling into eternity “today.” Many of the souls leaving their earthly body wish that “today” they had a few more “days” to do things they must leave undone.

“Today” Is All We Have! — Today is the most important time for each one of us, because it is the only day we have! We are not promised next year, next month, next week, or even tomorrow. Today is important because it is when we can make the “choice” to obey, to encourage a brother or sister, to take the first step in living a life for Christ ….  to find one’s life in "losing it" (Matthew 16:25).

What Is Our Life? — James says that our lives are as a vapor that appears for a little while and then "vanishes away" (James 4:14). Our life, like the morning fog, vanishes in the heat of the sun. A day in our earthly life is a valuable and precious gift because it is soon over.

Sin Deceives Us — Sin may deceive us by telling us, “You’ve got time.” Therefore the inspired writer of the book of Hebrews tells us to “exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13 ESV).

James states: “Come now you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow” (James 4:12-13). The saying, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” means that intending to take care of important duties at a future time is the pathway to eternal ruin. Though we plan to do something good (study the Bible, obey the gospel, teach the lost, call a discouraged brother or sister, visit the sick, minister to the needy) our hectic schedules crowd out our good intentions. We may forget that there will not always be a “tomorrow.”

The Importance Of Living “Today” — We are not promised tomorrow. “Today” is all we have. James gives us instructions on what our attitude should be concerning “tomorrow.” Instead we ought to say: “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’ But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:15-17).

We must, like the five wise virgins, make preparations for the Lord’s second coming. Will Jesus find us “watching” and “waiting”? (Matthew 25:13). Beloved, let us “today” imitate saints of the first century of whom it is said: “And every day, in the temple and at home, they ceased not to teach and to preach Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5:42 ASV).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets