I am older now, I have more than what I wanted, but I wish that I had started long before I did.
Few songs speak to me as “Wasted on the Way,” by Crosby, Stills, and Nash. Like water moving under the bridge of life, there is so much time we’ve wasted, so much time to make up everywhere we turn, sings Graham Nash.
I love the message of this song. It reminds me of Paul’s words in Philippians 3:12 -
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
It also brings to mind, Jeremiah’s words -
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. (29:11)
It’s never too late to reassess the lives we are living, the future we are building.
When I left the business world after two business degrees and future plans to eventually join my Dad’s company, a lot of people were shocked, to say the least. But the fact is God was not calling me to that life. God was calling me to pastor and teach. And it wasn’t long after I started my seminary studies that I realized how perfectly this calling fit my gifts and passions.
I loved studying Greek, ancient history, and the Bible with all its diversity and different cultural settings and perspectives. Sherri can tell you that even during semester breaks, I spent hours every day in the school library. It’s who I am. It’s what I was meant to do. And I expect to be doing it until the day I leave this world for the next.
Like Graham Nash, I’ve wasted some time along the way. I always was a slow learner. I guess a lot of us are. And like Paul, I know I haven’t arrived at my goal, I’m still pressing on. But I know God’s plans for my future are bright, and I look to the days and years ahead with joyful anticipation.
What about you? Do you love what you do? Are you stretching and reaching out, setting new goals, scaling new heights?
It’s never too late to take hold of life, to relish each day, and to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of you.
In Christ,
Dan
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