This Day or That Day?

“Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous person…

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. Do not grumble against one another, brothers… We consider those blessed who remained steadfast.“ James 5:1-9,11

While the world presents and promotes riches as magnificent, beneficial, and pretty, in fact they become miserable, worthless, and rotten. The mind set on this day lusts after the temporal, but the mind set on that day values what lasts. One of Satan’s wiliest tricks is to obliterate any thought beyond today: no accountability, no consequences, only present pleasure. No then, only now. But the child of God who seeks the treasure of that day finds the riches of true satisfaction and security. (Matthew 6:19-21,33)

It’s important to recognize where we put down stakes of time, emotion, mental, and financial investment. Where heart and soul are tethered determines our treasures, and vice versa. We may say we value wisdom, but spend inordinate time reading garbage. We may pretend to care about relationships, but spend focus on ourselves and meaningless distractions. We may claim to care about our fitness for the Lord, but expend our limited energy and calories on activities and victuals that don’t strengthen or nourish. In what areas have we given in to the devil’s ruses?

If we set our hearts aright this day to esteem the Lord of that day, all perception and attending decisions and actions change. We can enjoy and share wealth entrusted to us, delighting to treat others generously and well. We spend time wisely, developing discernment, honing character, serving meaningfully. We invest in significant relationships that build up the church, enhance growth, and help people. We share the steadfast, living hope of Christ with joy and freedom, lift the downcast, and encourage the faint-hearted to persevere. We accept trials and challenges as preparation for our eternal future. (1 Peter 1:3-8)

Over what should we weep and howl in repentance? Where have we allowed priorities to skew off-kilter, disciplines or important relationships to go awry? What do our calendars, screen timers, and financial statements tell about where we invest the resources entrusted to us by God? What would hope in that day, when we see Jesus face to face, change about the way we live today? (1 John 3:2-3)

Father, pattern my moments and days here to align with the promise and glad communion of that glorious day when You return.