It’s an exciting time to be alive.
Indeed, this is a perennial statement. It could be said of any time—in
present-tense context—of any time in history. It is otherwise far too easy,
from a Christian viewpoint, to focus too much on these end-of-times. We know
the present age to be evil, but at the same time God has given us life for the
abundance of enjoyment. And that enjoyment we extrapolate into bringing heaven
upon the earth, like through roles of advocacy for injustice. We can do
something!
These are exciting times. It is
exciting to be alive. One day very soon we will not be able to say that. It
will be somebody else’s turn. Such a thought might be morbid, but it is just as
much a reality.
We live in exciting times truly
for the fact that we are live, today; this instant.
Are we making the comparative most
from our times just now?
Without pushing ourselves to
burnout, which we know is unsustainable, are we taking our opportunities at the
time they are presented?
When we consider the moment we
live in, just now, reading these words, imagining what it is to live our lives,
just now, we may recognise the awesome reality—the gift from God—of life enough
to think, to feel, to experience, to react and respond, to ponder again; to
hope.
This is no insignificant topic.
Indeed, that would be a graphic understatement.
There is no more significance than
the idea of being alive now, especially as we consider the other reality—life
in eternity.
One thing we can know with a great
deal of certainty is that such a fact of being alive now—of knowing it
afresh—forces us to respond in some way. Many will respond by making the most of the moment and
planning more for future moments. Many others will respond by ambivalence;
perhaps learned helplessness permeates. But why should we be disabled or
disempowered by such a fact. Such a fact as being a live now should elicit
within us praise; it should evoke some jealous movement; it should spark from
within us praise or outrage.
This knowledge should create some
emotional response. That brings life!
***
The significance of being alive
now, no matter how down we might feel, is forever relevant. Now is our time. Now is an exciting time to be alive. As
we consider the chains of the past, determining where the shackles are, we ask
God to loosen them, and because we are alive now we break free the best we can.
© 2013 S. J. Wickham.
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