2003-02-11 - Read Through

Job 20:7 "He perishes forever like his refuse; those who have seen him will say, 'Where is he?'"

There is a popular song on the current market that ends with the phrase, "This life is more than just a read through." It is a profound thought. I'm not going to tell you where I got it. I always get in trouble with many of you when I mention secular music, but it does not matter that this comes from a secular source. It is still true. Sometimes the world gets it right even if by accident. I wanted to think about this phrase and I hope you can forgive me for taking a truth from a source that does not honor God.

This life is more than Just a read through. This is it. As time passes we can't go back and change the past. A read through implies that we can go back and read it again, but we cannot in this life. This life is more than just a read through. Everything we do has eternal significance. That puts a great burden upon us, but our life in Scripture is compared to a breath, and so we plug away, seek the Lord, faithfulness in our lives and look for ways to live faithfully to His calling for our lives, and then give Him the glory.

I gave the above quote to someone who I trust and got this response as I asked for a first blush reaction, "You only get one shot, so you shouldn't waste time on things that don't matter." That was the interpretation of my friend. I was just looking for input of an off handed comment because I had the hardest weekend at work I have had in 12 years. I felt like someone's off handed first response to what we started with might help me get through this devotional when I am exhausted and just want life to implode. It worked. My friend hit the nail on the head. We only get one shot and we should not waste time on things in this life that don't matter. It is a lesson for us all.

In this life there is no rewind button. It is not on our person, at least I can't find mine. There are no "do overs." We get one shot and this life is not just a read through. I worked on a Hollywood set once for a few days. It was amazing to me how many times they did the same scene over and over again. Sometimes as many as 20 times they would shoot the same scene. I was amazed. We don't have that luxury. Every scene of our life is our scene. We don't get retakes. Life is more than a read through and as my friend wisely said, we get one shot so we should not bother with things that don't really matter. I would add however, that the Lord can give us a second shot and make our past seem like a read through, but that is only by His grace.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

tim@cfdevotionals.org
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