Do you track the time? Are you aware of what is going on around you? Do you try to see the big picture? Have you witnessed the changing of times and eras? Have you noticed the changes in people, your community, and the nation? Or are you so focused on the moment that you miss it?
Many people are wrapped up in the moment. They are wrapped up in their own little world. They miss the bigger picture. They don’t pay attention to what is happening around the world. They even miss what is happening in their community. There have been significant changes happen over the decades.
Most of us have noticed some changes. We can point to airport security after 911. We can point to isolation, distancing, and awareness of the spreading of diseases after COVID. But have we noticed the more subtle things? Hatred and negativity are spewed daily. People have become selfish and self-centered, unlike fifty or sixty years ago, let alone the camaraderie exhibited during the world wars.
People missed what was happening in the first century, too. Paul tells them salvation is nearer than it had ever been. The reason is Jesus came to rescue all of us and to proclaim the good news. God stepped into his creation to save it from itself. We, too, have salvation near us today. It is as near to us as it was to the people of the first century. The darkness the world lived in without God is gone, for God is with us every day. We have an opportunity to live in the light of Jesus.
I pray we all pay attention to what is going on around us. I pray we see the big picture. I pray each one of us knows that salvation is near us, and we accept it and Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Pay attention. See the big picture. Accept salvation. Accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.
Romans 13:11-12a Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is already the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone; the day is near.
Marty Pressey 