While looking out over the sea I was stunned by the scene that met my eyes. Although it was late autumn, it was a hot day without a breeze in the air. The water had the appearance of liquid glass moving smoothly up and down without any ripples on the surface. It was as if God was holding His breath to see what we would be doing on this beautiful day.
It could also be that God wanted to see if we would recognise His hand in this awesome creation, appreciate what we have received and live as if it was the last day of our life.
Are we alive?
Some time ago I heard a story about two neighbouring farmers. Gert was a very big, strong and lively character. He got up early every morning before sunrise to walk outside on his farm to plan the day ahead. Gert always had a lot to do because he was constantly building new implements, or experiment with alternative crops. He never had a dull moment in his life. If the community would organise a social meeting you could count on Gert to be present, always smiling, having fun and chatting with everyone. He lived his life to the full and he enjoyed every second of it.
His neighbour was quite the opposite. Stevie was tall, but contrary to Gert, a slender person. To get up early was a real challenge to him, not to mention going outside before sunrise. When people visited him, his vocabulary seemed to be rather limited, not because he was uneducated but because he did not like talking. He adored his daughter and the only times people saw him laugh, were when he was with her. Stevie was a very quiet and proper person, neatly dressed every day. If you ask me, I am sure he put on a tie before he had breakfast.
One day Gert and his wife were enjoying lunch when someone knocked on the door. Gert’s wife left the table to answer the door and in a short while returned with a shocked expression on her face.
“Gert, Stevie has passed away a little while ago. A farm worker has just brought the news. Stevie is dead.”
Gert stopped eating and looked at his wife with a puzzled expression on his face. “Stevie dead? Are you kidding me? Was he alive all these years?”
We should ask ourselves the same question. Are we alive or just plodding on until our time runs out?
God created everything in perfect harmony. He gave us everything – food, oxygen, water, plus innumerable other resources to use and – note… to enjoy!
We have to work in order to be blessed by the fruit of our labour, to do what with? (Deut 12:7) To rejoice! All we have to do is to live and enjoy doing it!
God is holding His breath every day to see if we enjoy what He has given us. He is anxiously waiting to see us moving outside and doing new and different things to improve His creation and at the same time rejoice.
Some people have never started living. Some put their lives on hold after failures or mistakes they made, but failures and mistakes belong to the past and should not be a reason for putting our joy on hold now. We should move ahead but no person can move forward with his eyes fixed in the rear view mirror.
Jesus forgave us everything we failed to achieve and He repaired all the potholes that we created, just in case someone follows in our footsteps. The road is getting shorter every day and time is running out.
Perhaps Stevie lived his own special life, we would never know but if he was waiting for something else before he would start to live, I am afraid Gert was right, he has missed it.