Monday Morning Manna: Seize the Day!

“Carpe Diem” is the famous Latin phrase used by the Roman poet Horace to express the idea that one should enjoy life while one can. It literally means “seize the day.” A few years before, the Psalmist spoke of the brevity of time, “Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow” (Psalm 144:4) and a few years later the Apostle Paul would twice write, “Redeem the time,” (Ephesians 5:15; Colossians 4:5), or as one translation says, “make the most of every opportunity.” My granddaughter and grandson-in-law will only be able to enjoy my great-grandson’s “terrible twos” once. My grandson, will only be a teen-anger once. Come to think of it, I will only be a Senior Adult once. If we miss any of life’s stages, we miss it forever. This is not a rehearsal, nor a practice. This is the real thing. One and done. The poet Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “This time, like all times, is a very good one, if we but know what to do with it.” What we should do with it is to happily enjoy our current circumstances, whatever they may be. The Russian writer, Anton Chekhov wrote, “People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.” Seize today and be happy!

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.