Taking action isn’t as easy as it looks from a distance. One can observe another’s life, comment on the possible options, and even recommend a course forward in the comfortable knowledge that they do not have to live with the outcome. Far too often I find myself opining instead of charting my course and moving into taking steps.
Today is a case study. I am sitting in a English countryside cottage looking out over a small village. The trees are in bloom, everything is green and in the full beauty of a new creation. The clouds have moved in, smothering even the smallest hills, dripping with rain. The options for the day are simple. Take a walk or go on a long drive. Simple choices yet I sit enjoying my morning coffee, relaxing in a way that I rarely do, unable to make up my mind. So I do nothing. I act in a way that is a choice but the choice doesn’t propel me.
I know my morning choice isn’t life threatening or monumental. In so many ways it just doesn’t matter. What does matter is my intent and commitment. Is today a metaphor for how I am living out my life? Am I stuck in a pattern, hell, of my own making? Will I take the risk of breaking free, of living out on the edge, and being led by the Spirit?
The choices always come back to the moment at hand. If I desire to really live life out, being engaged to the max, I will seize the moment for all that it gives. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I need to expend physically energy. It does mean that I will be intentional in my choices. Life isn’t about reacting. Life is about creating.
When people were around Jesus they knew the experience was special. The desire was deep in their souls. “So when the crowd realized he was gone and wasn't coming back, they piled into the Tiberias boats and headed for Capernaum, looking for Jesus.” (John 6.24)
Today awaits; decision time.
