enjoy the sunset

“Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.”

Psalm 90:14

Go ahead, read my blog. You will say, duh, Ash, didn’t you learn all these things when you were twelve years old like the rest of us? Some weeks ago I came to the realization that I was only living for the next phase of life. Well the next phase of life is here: the transition from Auburn to Chattanooga happened quite smoothly thanks to the help of my parents. I am sitting here in my apartment this morning kicking and screaming against the changes… even good changes require adjustments and I have never dealt well with this part of life.

The unknown always seems more glamorous than the present moment… oh I can’t wait until I have a family of my own, I can’t wait until I’m finally on the mission field, I can’t wait until… What a horrible attitude toward life! A life that is meant to revel in the beauty of this day, in the glory and holiness of the God of the universe this day. A life that is meant to see the beauty of creation in the fight for joy ( I am currently reading Piper’s When I Don’t Desire God: How to Fight for Joy).

I met a man yesterday. An older man that had quite a bit of joy in his life. He had recently survived cancer and a heart attack, was with his adorable wife, and was teaching his grandson about boats down at Harrison Bay. He stopped for a moment to share his joy and said "Enjoy every day of this life, it will go by quickly." I don't know if this man was a believer or not, but from the short conversation we had, it seemed to me that this life was all he had. He did not have hope for an eternity spent giving glory to God. He was enjoying each moment for what it was; tomorrow all the fun might be over. How painful to believe that each day might be your last, and there is nothing more to live for than the beauty of a sunset.

There are many thinkers and writers of in our present day (although their thoughts are truly nothing new) who declare that one may know God as long as he or she is seeking toward truth or that it is enough to know God through nature and the world around us. Friends, if this is true, let us stop striving to carry the gospel to all peoples and kick back and enjoy the sunset this evening. But if the truth as revealed by God through his Word is that those without the gospel are perishing (I Cor. 1:18), let us allow the glories of God’s creation to draw us into gladness and joy in his truth and burst forth from our smiles and our words to all of the nations. The knowledge of Christ's sacrifice is the essence of the gospel and the central focus of God's story he has written throughout time. We are commanded to tell of it, and true faith in God comes through knowledge of Christ's atonement in scripture (Romans 10:17) When you see the sunset this evening, smile and shout to all who can hear "He did it again!"

Go ahead, sing it if you know it:

This be the day, this be the day that the Lord did do, that the Lord did do,
We gonna get down, we gonna get down, and party too, and party too….