Jesus was crucified between two thieves—yesterday and tomorrow. One of these was in bondage to his past—things he had done. The other was in bondage to the future—asking Jesus to remember Him when He came into His kingdom. While on the cross, Jesus honored the second thief’s amazing faith but corrected his understanding. He said, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.” Many can only see Jesus in the past, the biblical, historical Jesus. Others focus almost entirely on His coming again. Yet to see Him as He is, we must see Him TODAY. His name is not “I was,” or “I will be,” but “I AM.” Yesterday no longer exists and neither does tomorrow. The only thing we truly have to live in is the present, and that is where we must see Him and walk with Him.
I appreciate the wristbands that say, “What would Jesus do?” I wore one for years and still try to apply it to my life, but I think what we really need is one that says, “What is Jesus doing?” So an ultimate question should be, “What is the Lord doing in the world today?” Are we a part of this? If not, why not?
A second ultimate question would be, “What is the Lord doing in my life today?” This really needs to be asked before asking the previous question. The Lord is doing many things in the world today, and no one is capable of being a part of them all, but we should understand them and know where we fit in.
When the Spirit is first mentioned in Scripture, He is moving. I have never found a verse that says He has stopped. Therefore, to walk with the Lord in the present almost always involves being part of a movement. A movement is moving, going somewhere. This is the nature of the word of life—it is a river, not a lake or a pond. A river is moving, going somewhere.
Where are we going in our spiritual lives?