Live For Tomorrow
What do you live for? Do you live for the moment of today and don’t care what happens tomorrow? Or do you spend so much time worrying about what will happen tomorrow that you miss out on life today? Read Colossians 3:1-11 as we start today.
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
An “oldies” song I heard on the radio a couple of weeks ago has a refrain that goes something like this: “1, 2, 3, 4…Sha la la la la la, live for today…don’t worry about tomorrow, Hey! Live for today.” Aside from the silly lyrics, there is a main point made in this song—live for today. What does that mean exactly, to live for today? Actually, it has become the motto for many people in society today. Live for today’s fun, today’s money, today’s friendship, today’s party, and forget about tomorrow’s consequences. Skip the church service, skip the homework…it won’t be fun RIGHT NOW and it doesn’t matter. Why do today what you can put off for tomorrow, right?
But if we take a look at what God says, this attitude is exactly the opposite of what He expects. Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” In other words, our time of grace is a short one, but we shouldn’t throw it away as unimportant. Living for today may be fun while it lasts, but we should set our minds on God’s will. God gave us the time on this earth to learn of Him and to help others learn of Him. If other things start to get more important than God in your “live for today” life, maybe you’d better look back at what God has to say. He is not telling us to have no fun at all…He is simply reminding us of what is important.
Points To Ponder: Are you “living for today?” What are some ways you can set your mind on things above?
Prayer Possibilities: Pray for help to set your priorities straight. Ask God for His help to set some friends straight who may be “living for today.”
