Musings of a Prodigal Son: Seizing the Moment

 Most of us are a combination of the life we lived, and the one we intended to live. We  often fall short  of our purpose. We make mistakes we cannot correct. Each mistake results in a diminished capacity for true impact in this world in ways that matter the most. 

Samson is a prime example of someone whose life was "wasted." He was given gifts that surpassed those around him. He started out with  excitment and exhuberance and to some extent obedience as the scripture indicates that he intended to keep his nazerite vows (to abstain from having his hair cut and touching unclean things). However, to not touch unclean things was the area of his life where he first embraced disobedience. He was careless. As is often the case, degree by degree, he progressed down a path he was never intended to experience. It was the path of disobedience. As he traveled along this path, his impact on his true purpose began to diminish. Instead of Champion defeating the enemies of God, he began to side with the enemy and join them in their sin. He focused on those things important to the company he was keeping. By the time he got to Delilah, his fate was already sealed as his vision had been clouded by sin. As a result the power of God became dormant in his life. His physical blindness was merely a reminder that he was blind in other ways that mattered far more. As he labored everyday to the amusement of those around him he must have thought many times about the life he had squandered. Samson must have longed to buy back the time he had wasted. I am glad that God's economy is different than the worlds. In this world, time lost is simply that, lost. In God's economy, the redemption of Jesus made it possible to "buy back" time. Can we live over? No, something far better. Time is a commodity that we cannot get back. However, we can "redeem" it. The Bible says that we should "redeem the time for the days are evil." That word redeem means to "buy back." 

 We can have more impact in this moment than we would have cumulatively in the past had we never made the mistakes we made. The story of Samson goes on to say that he positoned himself and used his redeemed strength to bring the Building down on all the important leaders of the enemies of God's people, the Phillistines. The Bible is clear to point out that Samson destroyed far more enemies of God  in his last act than he did in his life (the one before disobedience occured). 

All we have is NOW. We are not promised tomorrow and yesterday has already gone. The crisis the world is facing as a result of this horrible virus has brought to our attention that life is a very fragile thing. Life is short. It is appointed unto man once to die. No one escapes that reality. It may delay for many but it will come.  God has promised his children that he will make sure the enemy gives back seven times what he stole from us due to our disobedience when we partnered with the enemy in our sin. All we must do is turn to God and be obedient. Jesus' redemptive work on the Cross in providing for our salvation looms large in the face of the temporal nature of life. On the basis of the Cross, let us seize our moment. Or like a fleeting breath, it will have come and gone.