“What seems so necessary today may not even be desirable tomorrow.”

You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments that stand out, the moments when you have really lived, are the moments when you have done things in a spirit of love….. - Henry Drummond: (1851 – 1897: Scottish writer and lecturer)

Gospel Text: (LK 10:17-24)


The seventy-two disciples returned rejoicing and said to Jesus, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name. “Jesus said, “I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky. Behold, I have given you the power ‘to tread upon serpents’ and scorpions and upon the full force of the enemy and nothing will harm you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”

At that very moment he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. “Turning to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

As we look closely at our lives, let us see if anyone or anything has taken first place before God.

We can look at where we spend our time and energy. If we spend all of our time working to make more money so we can buy things, but we don’t take time to pray and help others, we are out of balance. Loving God means that we also love our neighbor, and God will use us to bless them. Many of us are simply overcommitted and by cutting back on activities, we could make more time for God. It may be helpful to remember that by saying yes to one thing, we are saying no to others. Pray before you say yes, even to good things!

How do we spend our leisure time? The average American watches four hours of TV per day. That adds up to two months/year and by age 65 you will have watched nine years of TV! If we fall into that category, surely we can take one of those hours and spend it with God instead, or use it to be involved in a ministry to help others.

Our time on earth is very short.