Good morning and happy Saturday. Time to get up and get something done. How long are you possibly going to lay there? How much sleep does a person actually need? 4, 5, 6 hours? I know, I used to try to get my family up with logic like that and it never worked on them either. I sometimes shared a Proverb to provide extra encouragement.
9 How long will you stay in bed, you slacker?
When will you get up from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the arms to rest,
11 and your poverty will come like a robber,
your need, like a bandit. (Proverbs 6:9-11, HCSB).
That rarely worked either. Oh well, at least I tried.
I remember a long time ago, when I first started working construction on the weekends, my brother and I went to a material supply place. While we were waiting at the counter, I saw a container that had wooden coins about the size of a half dollar and on them was printed, “tuit,” Since I was only about 12 years old at the time (apparently there were no child labor laws back then), I had no idea what that meant. I probably thought it was a French word. Anyway, I asked what they were and he explained that it was a round tuit. The idea was that people often said they would do a project or something when they got around to it. Some incredibly clever person decided it would be a benefit to humanity and possibly a way to make some extra coinage by making wooden coins with “tuit” on one side of the coin and name of the material supply place on the other. Certainly a monumental achievement in the advancement of the human race and one that should hold a prominent place in world history. More than likely, the coin was probably about as effective as my use of the Proverb with my kids.
As I reflected about that, I thought that it would be great if such a coin, trinket, reminder note, alarm on our phone or calendar, or even a verse existed that would guarantee our commitment to the task at hand. If you have found that, please let me know. It seems like there are times when we could use something to propel us forward on things that should be done. It really could be anything from a home improvement project, homework, Bible reading plan, losing weight, exercising, to telling someone about Jesus. Can you picture the scene with me? You have a friend or co-worker you have been thinking about sharing the Gospel with. However, you have let excuse after excuse derail your good intentions. Then, one day you reach in your pocket to pull out some loose change and, what in the world, somehow a round tuit appeared out of nowhere. With a burst of zeal like the people at Costco fighting over the free samples of cod on a stick, you feel compelled to go and share. You can apply this same scenario to the other areas like home improvement projects, etc. Think about it, wouldn’t that be great?
Unfortunately, a cheap wooden coin emblazoned with the letters “tuit” doesn’t hold any special powers. Interestingly enough, as believers we have one of the greatest powers in the entire universe dwelling within us. That’s right, the very Holy Spirit of God given to all who trust Christ. And yet, somehow, we can even resist the Spirit as He compels us to do things. It’s kind of incredible if you think about it. What’s more, Jesus, the One we profess to be our Savior and Lord, has given us things we ought to be doing. And yet, once again, we can even ignore Him and His Word. Oh man, I feel like declaring with the Apostle Paul, “What a wretched man I am…”
So, what is the point of all this (other than to make us feel depressed, like slackers, ready to be discarded like rubbish)? Actually, that wasn’t the purpose. Perhaps, it was just a reminder that it takes some effort on our part to keep moving forward in any area of our life. The only things that seem to happen without effort are gaining weight and getting older each day. Here we are in mid-February, having just gone through a very cold spell. Maybe our motivation got as low as the temperature. Now would be a good time to crawl our way out of our hibernation den and start taking a few steps forward. Who knows, maybe soon you and I will be running again. Whatever you have been putting off, let’s get around to it. As the prophet of old declared, “Time keeps on slipping…into the future.”
Love God. Love others. Impact our community. Change the world.
Pastor Larry
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