Living Fully in the Present

Craig Miller--Southwoods Office

This semester I have had the opportunity to audit a College and Young Adult Ministry class in the Christian Formation and Ministry Department here on the Wheaton campus.  We have enjoyed many fruitful discussions that are extremely relevant to me personally and to the Wheaton College students who will be a part of the HoneyRock community this summer.  Our discussion last evening proved particularly fruitful as we talked about the issue of vocation and “the will of God” and how we counsel students in this respect.  

One thing in particular that came out of our discussion was the way in which we often get the ends and means mixed up in our lives.  Too often we come to view the future as the end we are striving for and the present as just a means to that end.  This type of perspective is usually characterized by an excessive amount of worry and discontent as we strive after answers to the mystery of “God’s will” while sometimes losing sight of simply living in the present.  We see our present circumstances as merely a stepping-stone to the future, and we treat God as a divine fortuneteller whose role in our lives is to simply help us through the maze of choices we all face.   

In contrast, I believe we need to view the present as the end and the future as the means to that end.  This would be characterized by an attitude of living fully engaged in the present and asking for our “daily bread” as Christ taught, without the anxiety that characterizes much of our lives.  The future helps determine how we act and plan in the present based on who we are becoming and what values we want to characterize our lives, but the future is never guaranteed.  We can only live one day at a time. This attitude acknowledges God as he truly is, concerned with the present circumstances of our lives and our character as we make decisions beyond the “life decisions” that seem so pressing.  

Whether we are college students thinking about life after graduation, high school students thinking about college or getting a job, or parents wrestling with the reality of financial and familial responsibilities, we know that we are walking in God’s will if we are fully engaged in the joys and challenges of today as we ask God for our daily bread--one day at a time.  This is what it means to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” (Mt. 6:33).  Blessings on you today as you seek him!