20:24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them
when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen
the Lord.”
Think of how hard we have worked
to develop technology to make up for the fact "we weren't there".
Reruns in case "you weren't there" when it aired the first time. Now
we have the PVR, videos, etc... so we can miss it and not miss it.
However the really important
things in life can't be caught with PVR. Our baby's first step happens so
quickly and unexpectedly that it rarely gets recorded and even if it does it
isn't the same. That moment your son or daughter just wants to curl up in your
arms like they did when they were little comes and then goes and if you weren't
there it can't be lived again. The last time mom or dad or grandpa or grandma
is able to do that special thing you always planned to do slowly yet suddenly
passes and it's too late.
Life is full of moments to
cherish and treasure. We surely won't catch them all but much of it has to do
with where we position ourselves. Are we mostly present or mostly absent? Are
we surrounding ourselves with people and influences that will enrich our lives
or are we missing the good stuff because we're mired in the mud, wasting
precious moments that will never come back?
We don't know where Thomas was.
We just know "he wasn't there". We also know Thomas was a doubter, a
skeptic. Perhaps he leaned that way because he missed so many moments. Perhaps He
couldn't believe what others believed more easily because they saw so many
things he missed.
I have observed that people who
hug more are happier people. Opportunities to hug and be hugged happen often
but then are gone. You either take them or you miss them. You are either there
in the moment or the moment passes you by. I believe those who hug believe in
love more than those who don't. Love can't be seen. It can't be recorded with
our phones or PVR'd. Love can be felt though. You can walk into a room and
sense the presence or absence of it. On the flip side you can't feel
either if you never enter the room at all.
We don't know why he wasn't
there, he just wasn't and Jesus came and left and he missed it. Jesus infused
grace and forgiveness into a room full of fear, guilt, and shame, and he missed
it. The moment was over and he never experienced it.
How many times has someone said
to you "Oh man you should have been there!!!"
Yesterday I was part of a
powerful moment. To try and even describe it would be pointless. The most
interesting thing is that I never planned to be part of it nor did I expect it
or see it coming. All I did was accept an invitation that I believed God wanted
me to accept. The rest just happened and I was there. I didn't miss it.
Are you present? Are you in the
moment? Are you in tune with His moments that He has planned for you?
If you never read His Word you
won't ever know what moments you missed. If you never get away from the noise
and business of life and just listen you'll never know what moments and
insights you missed but you will miss them. If you never show up when your
fellow believers gather together you'll miss moments that are gone forever.
Nobody wants to be the one who
"should have been there". We all want to catch the moment in real
time and see, feel, smell, hear, touch, taste, and drink in every bit of it.
"You will search for Me and
you will find Me when you search with all your heart."
Carpe Diem.
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