Take A Picture, Why Don't Ya!

Life is like a motion picture; constantly moving.  Moments are the snapshots, captured in an instant, but often time lost in a string of moments.  That’s why we like to take pictures.  They remind us of moments gone by, and always too quickly.  Our memories are fleeting and we need descriptive words and pictures to remind us what has past.  We like memories, they ground us, and they give us an anchor in the quick pace of life.

Of course, memories and moments can be sad, happy, frightening, painful, and joyous.  We want to forget the painful moments and hold to the good ones.  Holding on to only the good ones gives birth to the phrase, “the good old days.”  We reminisce over the past when the present is difficult.  We long for simpler times, where our memories have weeded out moments of difficulty.  We relish times where our imagination has built a paradise around a frozen moment in time.  It can become obsessive, but it can also fill us with good feelings of loves and life that were good.

As we recently traveled across the country on a train, we took lots of pictures. We wanted to capture moments of interest and emotion.  For me moments of importance always include people.  I like objects, architecture, scenery, and animals, but if they don’t include the people I care for, I might as well buy a post card.  In the digital age we snap pictures at an alarming rate.  Thousands of moments are stored, and rarely seen again.  The mountain of digital images is so overwhelming that we just don’t have the time to sift through them all.  One picture of a friend’s smile, a spouse’s hug, a child’s cry, is worth more than a hundred unseen digitally stored images. 

In the gospels the authors have given us snapshots of Jesus’ life.  Of all the things they could have written they chose only a few, the most important.  The Apostle John said that the world could not hold all that could have been written about Jesus.  But what has been written is given to us, so that we won’t get lost in a mountain of facts, but rather revel in the most intimate of acts.  Over the next few Sundays I am going to explore with the people at Grace Church, Moments with Jesus; snapshots of intimate moments where our Savior interacted with people, and in doing so give us an anchor for our faith.  As we spend time reminiscing over the good ole’ days of our Lord, I pray that we will begin to revel in the memories we are making in Him today. 

Today I am reflecting on moments past, but not forgetting about the moments being created.  I pray that one day I will look back at these moments as the good ole’ days; days that have been lived for Jesus; loving people; and cherishing my family and friends.  I’m just saying....