Living Beyond the Now - One Day at a Time
Introduction: This chapter is based on the understanding that Easter is an on-going life experience and not just a holiday. It is rising to new life each day as a gift and opportunity from the source of life inexplicable and wondrous. New life is a reality that is notable from the beginning of time and space and conceptually celebrated in the mystery of Easter.
Easter – one day at a time:
Abraham Lincoln once said "Thank God the future comes one day at a time." AA and all the cloned Twelve Step Programs have brought the "One Day at a Time" concept to the forefront. “I have learned this doesn't mean I can't plan ahead. It only means I can't plan the outcome.”[i] Living one day at a time is a secret that many have not learned. Anxiety often comes from taking on too much at once that may create apprehension and concern. If we concentrate too much on the outcome and too little on the step by step planning that may hopefully lead to a good outcome we can create more problems than may be solved. Perhaps this is what the scriptures are trying to tell us, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”[ii]
This lesson about one day at a time is one of those lessons that seems obvious and easy but it is not so easy in actuality. Most people, regardless of age or circumstance, tend to take on too much each day along with too much of a concern for the future. It is difficult to remember that today is the first day of the rest of our lives and not a great deal more than that. What we do today is very important because it will unconsciously effect what will happen in our future. That is why it is so important to concentrate on what we think and do each day, one day at a time. Lincoln’s words are simple and clear that the future comes one day at a time – period. The importance of each day cannot be underestimated regarding its effect in our living well now and as time goes forward.
Easter – life continues:
Our confidence for living should also be in the knowledge and understanding that life continues. There is a future. Each day that we awaken we begin that future and the privilege of moving forward in and with all the fullness that life affords us. This is why we need to realize how important the now is and its significance in our growth, development and success. Living beyond the now is accomplished only by making sure that every moment of the now is utilized to its fullest. As the Apostle Paul declared, “I tell you now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation.”[iii] It is in the now that the Easter moment can and will come to us to cause renewal in body, mind, and spirit.
Living beyond the now requires faith, (Finding Authenticity In Today’s Happenings). The validity of each day gives us the lessons and leverage to move on to another day. It is the holy (Habitually Open to Learning and Yearning) that is the sacred in each of us that inspires meaning. In this hope (Habitually Open to Productive Exploration) we gradually are encouraged to continue our remarkable journey in living. Along with these basic attributes for a good life we also have grace (God’s Recreational Activity Causing Excellence) gifting our actions toward the success (Serving Ultimately and Consistently Causing Excellence, Stability and Security) that we desire. It is in this simplicity of one day at a time that we become secure (Staying Extremely Comfortable Under Reoccurring Experiences).
Easter – from the beginning:
There is even more to help us in living beyond the now. Our ancestors have given us clues to some of their awareness as noted in one of the Psalms, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”[iv] In the advances of our ability to observe the wonders of our universe we have even greater advantages to an abundant life. Our human capacity to contemplate life beyond ourselves continues today in a variety of science that has formalized the study of our wonder. In earlier times Astrologers saw signs in the heavens that they interpreted as affecting life on earth. The basic common assumption of astrologers is that celestial placements can aid in the interpretation of past and present events, and in the prediction of the future even to today. “Astrology is a group of systems, traditions, and beliefs which hold that the relative positions of celestial bodies and related details can provide information about personality, human affairs, and other terrestrial matters…. The scientific consensus, as expressed by the National Science Foundation, considers belief in astrology to be a pseudoscientific belief.”[v]
The development of modern science, a systematic body of knowledge, contains a variety of branches that study the physical world and universe. Today we have Astronomy, “the scientific study of celestial objects (such as stars, planets, comets, nebulae, star clusters and galaxies) and phenomena that originate outside the Earth's atmosphere (such as the cosmic background radiation). It is concerned with the evolution, physics, chemistry, meteorology, and motion of celestial objects, as well as the formation and development of the universe.”[vi] Recently I received by Email an ecard that I think will explain the amazing wonder of our universe in a succinct yet profound way – view the card.[vii]
The notion that life continues is a growing concept as we move forward in this 21st Century. Our Earth is alive with all that it needs to be and become. Did you realize that there is no new water on earth? The water we have is here from the beginning. “Water can’t just appear. All water is recycled (such as it raining, going into lakes, and it being evaporated back into clouds), saved in places such as springs, and saved in polar glaciers. There is no way for new water to form on earth. The water that’s on earth now, if hidden, or found, is the only water there is.”[viii] The earth is matter and energy. “What is matter? It includes anything that has mass and occupies space. The earth, and everything on it, is composed of matter. The terms substances, materials, objects, and bodies are used to refer to matter. Examples of matter are as far ranging as the air you breath, the food you eat, the objects that you own, and the ground upon which you walk. Matter is closely associated with energy, and in some rare instances cannot be easily distinguished from energy. Energy is the ability to do work.”[ix]
Easter – Why I have confidence in Life Everlasting:
When we combine our heritage of Progressive Revelation in the Scriptures and combine that with our growing knowledge in Science and Evolution, we can see that the physical and spiritual are renewed.
Fact and Theory: “The statement "evolution is both a theory and a fact" is often seen in biological literature. The "fact of evolution" refers to the changes in the genetic material of a population of biological organisms over time, which are known to have occurred through scientific observations and experiments. The "theory of evolution" refers to the modern evolutionary synthesis, which is the current scientific explanation of how these changes occur. Misuse and misunderstanding of these terms have been employed in the construction of arguments to dispute the validity of the theory of evolution. The distinction between fact and theory is not limited to the study of evolution. Gravitation (or gravity) is the observable natural phenomenon that bodies with mass attract each other; different theories of gravity attempt to explain how these bodies are attracted. In this way, the word gravity refers both to a natural phenomenon and to the relative scientific theory (or theories). Used alone, the word "evolution" often refers to the combination of the underlying facts and the theory that explains them. However, it is also frequently used to refer to one or the other, so care may be needed to determine an author's meaning.[x]
Text and Interpretation: In John’s Gospel we hear these words: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”[xi]
The Bible is often referred to as God’s revealed word. In the Bible, God is communicating divine truth. He is enlightening us regarding His plan of salvation and will for our lives. This revelation comes to us in a progressive manner, a little at a time. Jesus says, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear”.[xii] Progressive revelation is vitally important because it reminds us that God had much more to say to us than is contained only in the Bible. The people of God in the earlier centuries thought that the earth was flat and that the Sun revolved around the earth. Their interpretation of scripture was obviously limited to their day and age. John’s Gospel makes it clear that there is more to come in every age and that God’s Spirit will enable us to come to see and understand even more as time goes on. What we may say now about life everlasting today may be equally as deficient as what earlier people said in the centuries before us. Just because we may not be fully informed does not negate the fact or concept.
Using poetry and allegory, our hymns and songs often give us this understanding and meaning we have for a brighter future. I invite you to listen to a boys’ choir called Libera as they sing “Going Home”.[xiii] They sing the song “Going Home”, but perhaps it would be better to think of our whole lives as a planned adventure or journey. A good trip, as some have pointed out, it not necessarily arriving at one’s destination but the fun of getting there. As I close this segment of Living Beyond the Now I invite you to close by reading an earlier paper that I wrote on Survival, Security, Significance. It may help you with a constructive plan for your trip through life.
Peace and love,
Jerry Pisani
