Sometimes people say things like, “If I win the lottery, I am going to be really generous”, or “When I retire, I will make time for what is really important. I will look after others and take care of them”. When I hear these statements, I often think, “Ok, but what are you doing now?”
It is easy to have good intentions. It is great to dream about what might be someday. However, the real test is not “What might you do?”, but “What are you doing right now?” If you are not being generous with the time or money you have now, you are unlikely to start later.
Jesus said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20). When this verse is taught, often the focus is on the “moving mountain” part. We want to be part of something big, notable and impressive. However, that is not the starting point. The starting point is the small, mustard-seed-sized belief part. The starting point is “Develop your faith. If you get that in place, who knows what God might do in and through you?
Days before his death, Jesus was eating a meal when a woman came up behind him, broke open an expensive jar of perfume and poured it on Jesus as a sign of her devotion to him. Those who saw this criticized her for being so wasteful, noting that she could have sold that perfume and given the money to the poor. However, Jesus told them to stop harassing her, because “She did what she could” (Mark 14:8). She did not think about the cost. She did not consider what others would say. She saw an opportunity and acted. More than 2000 years later, we still read and talk about what she did.
So, what opportunities are open to you right now? Not “What might you do if your circumstances were different?”, but “What can you start doing today?”
The only place to start is here. The only time we have is now.
It is time to go!
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