If Only I Had . . .

The Biggest Opportunity Lies Ahead

“The Hope of Morning” by Myra Alibrando

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Curiosity and Imagination with the Bible

When you add curiosity and imagination to your Bible study, it is much more rewarding. I imagine facial expressions, tone of voice, and the reactions of people in the scenes who are not mentioned. 

Going forward, I also imagine Judgement Day, the return of Christ, the last days, and that mansion Christ mentioned. Many other things too.

I am intrigued by the early generations before the flood living hundreds of years and I have thought what it would be like to have a catch with your great, great, great, great grandson and not be feeble. I've imagined a 90-year old acting like he knows everything and then a few great uncles come along who are 500 telling him, he doesn't know anything yet, because that's what their still living 800-year old great grandfather told them the week before.

One Career is Not Enough

I apply this to my own life, thinking most of us have only time for one or two careers. I imagine doing some job just for the money and then deciding I want to become a research biologist for 40 years and after that teach students for 30 years and after that pursue a full-time music career for another 30 years until I decide to try archaeology for a while. A good marriage then lasted more than 500 years. Obviously, not too many life-threatening illnesses with the early generations. 

What If I Chose a Different Path?

OK, enough with that fun. All of us sometimes wonder how our lives might be different if we chose a different path. Usually that might be a career path or the nation of residence. It might be doing much more for our parents or children. 

Regret solves nothing. Becoming a better person is always worthwhile. My simple focus thought is that our lives are very short but our personal eternity is decided during this short time. 

Maybe I could have achieved something great if I had only . . . 

I should have taken that offer when I had the chance . . .

Even if it might have paid more, even if it may have been a different life, we must remember these are tiny circumstances compared to our choices that determine our eternity. 

Now or Never

The world believes this is all there is. Whatever you will ever get, according to them, you get now and then you are forever non-existent. I don't know about you, but that's pretty depressing to me. 

You don't need to be religious to see no one takes their wealth with them when they die. You don't need to be religious to see the most beautiful celebrities age and lose their beauty. You don't need much imagination to realize someone who has lied and cheated his way to the top has betrayed love, loyalty, and a clear conscience and in the end, it isn't worth it. 

Designed to Live How Long Doing What?

God designed us. He designed us for happiness and love. God knows how to make us happy, but not so we have a clear conscience and then die with a smile on our face. That's nice but resurrection is a whole lot more, along with all of God's promises. 

Solomon lived out every fantasy every man has had. Wealth, power, women, talent, reputation, great achievements, political marvel, celebrity status, literal king of his nation during a time of peace, and even wisdom like no man on earth. With time, he became less satisfied and ultimately abandoned God, the source of his worldly achievements and potentially the source of eternal life.  

You can end up better than Solomon, so don't fret about any missed opportunities. You will have 1,000 years to focus on something new and then another 1,000 years to do something completely different with wonderful people. Then after investing 2,000 years growing as a person and helping others, you have just as much time left as when you started because you will live forever.

You can never accomplish as much as Solomon on this earth in your current body, but Solomon will never do as much as what you will do with your hundreds of thousands of years loved by the Creator and surrounded by those who love Him back.

Have a great week contributing to your own life getting brighter brighter.

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