The Latin phrase “carpe diem” means seize the day. Psalm 118:24 tells us “this is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” I was driving earlier this morning listening to the radio. There was a man teaching convocation at Liberty University earlier this semester, and they were replaying his message to the students. He said something that struck me and stuck with me. I didn’t even hear who the man was, but he said “don’t crucify your today between two thieves. The thief of yesterday and the thief of tomorrow.” That is all I got to hear of the message, but it struck me at how often we crucify our today between yesterday and tomorrow. So many times we are robbed of our joy today, because of our past. So many people walk around in bitterness and unforgiveness not towards others, but rather towards themselves. They feel as though God couldn’t possibly love them, because of what they have done in the past. Or they feel like they are worthless, because of past mistakes. To those people, I want to remind you of a scriptural truth dealing with forgiveness. Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” If you have been forgiven by God, it is over and done with. If God has forgiven you, then you need to move past it and let it go. Here is the truth about yesterday, no amount of shame, pain, regret, or desiring to change it will actually change it. Yesterday is gone. All you can do is be forgiven by God for it, learn from it, grow from it, and move on.
However, there is also the thief of tomorrow. We often put off decisions until “tomorrow.” Much like that elusive diet or life change we need to make, we say we will start it “tomorrow.” The problem is often tomorrow never comes. We are often consumed about the future and what will happen. Yet James tells us in James 4:13-14, “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” Jesus told us in Matthew 6 not to worry about tomorrow. The reason we shouldn’t worry about tomorrow is because it may never come. I don’t say that to be morbid, but rather to alleviate your worry about something that may not even happen.
There is only one July 7, 2014. Once it is gone there will never be another one, so don’t waste it! Seize today for all its worth. You can do that by thanking God for giving you today. Every day is a gift from God. You can seize today by telling those close to you how you feel about them. Don’t wait until tomorrow to tell someone that you love them. You can seize today by seeing every opportunity that comes your way today as an invitation from God to get to know Him better and to grow as a person. Yes some opportunities are going to be disguised as pain, suffering, or difficulty. But they are opportunities to learn about God’s love and for you to grow as a person. Make the most of today, because it will be gone sooner than you think!
By His grace and through His strength may we live for Him