The “be not anxious” section of the sermon on the mount (Matt. 6:25-f) closes with these words: “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” It seems Jesus has given two “cures” for anxiety” (1) make his kingdom and his righteousness your first goal; and (2) live one day at the time. In our emphasis upon the first, I believe we tend to overlook the importance of the second. The “anxious” mind races ahead to troubles that may never happen, or sink morbidly in the mire of yesterday. It wallows in despair; is crippled and ineffective in life’s most crucial “moment of truth” — the awesome. tingling, wonderful NOW. NOW IS A GOOD TIME! That motto is attached to my study clock, but it is more than a warning against procrastination. It affirms one’s trust in Almighty God — the kind of trust that makes a happy soul here and hereafter. Genuine Christians do not abdicate today for a heavenly existence; they live today — with assurance. To all who walk by faith NOW is opportunity: full of challenge, meaning and hope. TODAY is a jewel, contrasting boldly

with the yesterday that has been so effectively blotted out by the forgiveness that is in Christ (Heb. 10:17) and brilliantly illuminated with His promise of tomorrow. (Jn. 14:1-6). But it is ephemeral, delicately set in the effervescence of time. It must be used NOW, or it is lost forever. When we ask, “What is a Christian?” we use the present tense. Not “was,” nor “may be tomorrow”— but NOW, what IS he? In a real sense, I am a follower of Christ to the extent that I use TODAY for Him. “Forgetting the past,” “confident of the future,” “I press,” (Phil. 3:13-15). “Press” is a NOW term, a TODAY word. The atmosphere, the clime in which a Christian lives is sparkling with NOW!! It is sweet urgency, too rich to be called frantic, too wonderful for leisure, it must be eaten while it is hot. And where, in this kind of life, is there room for anxiety? This malady of emotions is rooted in a yesterday that we cannot believe forgiven, or in a tomorrow that we will not trust. It is not of God.   [Previous Article] [Next Article]

	Created on 6-Dec-00	Page last updated