"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8 (NIV)
I take part in a number of pages on a particular social media site that are Christmas related. With Christmas being my favorite holiday, I enjoy seeing the pictures all year round and sharing that enjoyment with others, On one of those pages, in order to contribute, I have been researching the stories behind Christmas songs, and have found some pretty interesting facts about some of them.
Just as every song has a story, so does every person. We may, at times, forget that the person begging on the street, just like us, has a history that includes people that have loved them. They had a childhood. They went to school. They had friendships, hopes and dreams. There is a story behind how they ended up where they are now.
When you look at a tombstone, generally you see at least three things. One is the name that identifies the person buried there. Accompanying the name are two dates. One is the date of birth and the other is the date of death. But in between those two dates there is usually a dash. That dash signifies the period of time when that person was living and experiencing life.
Here is the question of the day. How are you spending your dash? Hebrews 9:27 tells us that people are destined to die. Although we are aware of that, it is so easy to assume that the day of our death is far in the future. In truth, we have no idea how long our dash will be, and, as we grow older, our death grows nearer. Is that scary? I doesn't have to be.
In John 10:9-10 Jesus tells us, "Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and find good pastures. The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life."
And in John 14:2-3 He says, "My Father's house has many rooms; if that we not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."
From those two verses we gain assurance that Jesus will be with us during our lives and that we will be where He is after our deaths. As we live through the dash years, our responsibility is to seek His guidance, through the Word of God, as to how to navigate our days. Todays verse gives us some direction. We are to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God.
Our days upon this earth will come to an end. But we have this day, this moment, to make the most of the life the Lord has gifted us with. That man or woman on the street, or in line at the grocery store, or showing road rage on the highway, may not know that Jesus gave His life to atone for their sins and was resurrected to conquer death and give them eternal life in heaven. As believers, we have so much to share with them! If there is an opportunity to share Christ with another person, we need to lay the fear of rejection aside and tell them. We need to be praying for those around us and asking the Father to guide them through their dashes too. Friend, stranger or enemy - everyone needs to hear the Gospel.
This day is part of our dashes. It is up to us how we spend it. I hope we all make it count for eternity. God bless.
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