For my birthday, my husband gave me a plaque that has the dates of our wedding anniversary as well as the birthdays of our four children on it.At the bottom of the plaque, are the words, “What a difference a day makes”. Every time that I read that phrase I think, “How true that is! One day CAN make a huge difference!”
I’ve often wished that I could have at least one distinct memory for each year of my life that I could clearly associate with that particular year, but most days seem to go together in a blur of time.However, there are days that definitely stick out.
Some days are etched in our collective memory, or at least the memory of those people who lived in a particular generation:
Christmas
New Year’s Eve and Day
December 7th; the attack on Pearl Harbor
D-Day
The day Kennedy was assassinated
9/11
The Day Barack Obama, as the first African American, was elected President of the United States
April 15… tax day; now as the Boston Marathon bombing
There also are the days that are significant to you individually:
- Your birthday
- Your first kiss
- Day you met your best friend
- Wedding day
- High school or college graduation
- Day you got your first job or were promoted
- Loss of a relative or close friend
- Day you gave birth
- Day you gave your life to Jesus
- Day you shared Jesus with someone else who received Him as Savior and Lord of their life
Each day of your life is only one day, but that “one day” can make all of the difference, can’t it?Our lives are comprised of days, some more significant than others.
James 4: 14 says, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” Our lives testify to the fleeting nature of life, and the loss of loved ones certainly underscores that reality. Yet, most of the time we live for the things of this world and as if our life on earth will never end.
That is why God instructs us through the words of Paul in Ephesians 5:15-16, “Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” The “evil” aspect is that the Enemy of your soul and mine, Satan, desires for us to waste our lives on things that are temporal and will “rust, rot and burn” Matthew 6:20.God on the other hand, longs for us to “fix our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2) and to keep our focus on that which will lead to an abundant life here on earth and inexpressible joy for all eternity.
There is set before each of us a day that we cannot escape and that day will make the greatest difference of all in our lives. Whether we choose to think about it or not, each of us is going to have a “day of reckoning” when we will have to give an account before God of how we have lived our lives on this earth.Only those who have put their trust in the finished work of Jesus on the cross will triumph on that day.
What is the focus of your days, which is the substance of your life?
Are you making the most of each and every day?Are you living each day with eternity in mind?
“Just one life, twill soon be past; only what’s done for Christ will last.”C. T. Studd
Written by Julie Van Gorp