Pluck the Day!

Learning to Walk with Our Savior

Carpe Diem!

Catch the day! Pluck the day! Harvest the day! Seize the day! All of these are translations of Carpe Diem. This was the line for which the Roman poet Horace would be most known. The full line, translated, is, “Pluck the day, trusting as little as possible in the next one.” Horace, dipping his fingers in the soil of Hedonism, believed in finding joy and pleasure in the present, for the present is quickly passing us by, and the future is uncertain. The line is a call to be intentional about the day concerning both our labors and our pleasures. Horace’s wisdom isn’t far off the mark, but it does require some fine-tuning. True enough, we must consider the moment, live in the present, and focus on today. Joyfully, however, the future is not uncertain, but shall unfold exactly as divinely decreed.

In the meantime, maximizing the day remains essential. But what is to be our reason? The evil of the days, not the fleeting nature of the days (as true as it is that the days fleet fast). Sin fills the days if we’re caught folly-footed, without the daily pursuit of seeking God’s Kingdom. There’s enough trouble in a single day to occupy our thoughts and actions. Since the evil days are the reason, what is to be the motive? Not so much “what” but “who.”

Who caught the day the best? Who plucked it? Who harvested it? Who seized it? It was the Son of God, who has the Spirit without measure, who lived to redeem evil days. Here was the Son of Man, who lived on earth just a third of what many will live. But it is not length of days that matters most but how the days are spent. John Flavel wrote, “He has lived long enough upon earth who has won heaven, be his days ever so few.” And what shall we say of the God-Man who brought heaven, namely himself, to earth? Let’s trace his steps, as sheep of the Good Shepherd, and we will be sure to walk wisely. Walking in step with the Spirited Son, we redeem the day by walking with care and wisdom (Ephesians 5:15-17).

The Son’s Early Days

Let’s look carefully how we walk by considering the Son’s walk. It was Irenaeus who said that Jesus must’ve lived into his 50s, so he could be our example for and to sanctify every phase of life: infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age. Granted, Irenaeus was off by about two decades, but his motive was on target. If we desire to walk with wisdom and care, at every point in our lives, we must walk the walk of the Good Shepherd, consider the gait of our God, following the manner of our Messiah.

The Son, born of woman, under the law, walked lawfully. He was our law-abiding citizen. Every firstborn male, who opens the womb of his mother, is to be holy to the Lord. Jesus, the one eternally at the bosom of the Father, subjected himself holy to the Lord. Joseph and Mary, holding Leviticus in their hearts, handed their son over to their Lord. The priest Simeon, with the Spirit upon him, took the Son of God into his arms, and rejoiced in his and Israel’s coming peace from the face of light and glory looking up at him. The Christ, our Circumcision, had been circumcised under the law, and the laws of purification were observed, so that one day we would be purified by the Son’s Spirit (Luke 2:22-28).

As the infant son grew up in his father Joseph’s house, he remained fully committed to following his heavenly Father. Do you remember the 12-year-old Jesus? As Joseph led his family from Jerusalem back to Nazareth, the child who grew strong and was filled with wisdom, with his Father’s favor resting upon him, had hung back. The Passover Feast was over, but the Son’s time with his Father in Heaven was not. Three days away from Mom and Dad meant great distress of the heart for them, but for the Son these days were full of worship, and God-glorifying growth in talking with the teachers. Why, he wondered, would his parents not know exactly where he’d be? The Son must always be about his Father’s business. The meek Messiah grew in wisdom (Luke 2:39ff).

We ought to walk lawfully, always committed to our Father’s house. We for whom the law was fulfilled seek to hide God’s wisdom in our hearts to not sin against God. We discern what the will of the Lord is by renewing our mind daily with his pure wisdom. We who’ve been washed by the Spirit keep in step with the Spirit in our daily walk. As we wake up each morning, we wash ourselves with the water of the Word. These were the Son’s early days, which guide us all our days.

The Son’s Middle Days

As we age, life grows more challenging, more trialsome. How should we live? The Son’s situation was similar. The noon-day heat of his trials was found in his adulthood. From the days of his ministry, there was, no doubt, a mid-life crisis. I don’t mean the kind of mid-life crisis experienced by unstable men these days. I mean the crisis of trial in the middle of his ministry, the kind that others sought to take advantage of to drive him off the paths of righteousness that he would later walk us through.

As the Son’s ministry emerged from the waters of baptism, how was his time spent? Did he make the best use of his time? The evil days were lurking behind the tumbleweeds of the desert. No sooner does the Son hear from his Father, “You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased” than is he driven off to hear the voice of another, that of the Tempter, the Devil (Matthew 4). Led up into the wilderness by the same Spirit who had rested upon him, Jesus fasted.

Empty of the bread from below, but full of the food which is his Father’s will, the Son was equipped and determined to defeat the Devil’s tempting. Do you remember the exchange?

Satan: “If you’re the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

Son: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word from God’s mouth.”

Strike 1!

Satan: “If you’re the Son of God, throw yourself down from the Temple.”

Son: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Strike 2!

Satan: “Don’t you want all these kingdoms? I’ll give them to you, if you bow to me.”

Son: “Be gone, Satan! You shall worship the Lord your God only.”

Strike 3, you’re out!

Full of the wisdom of God’s Word, having faithfully driven away the tempter, Jesus was now ready to teach the wisdom from above. As the new Head of Israel, he called to himself 12 men in whom he’d invest himself. He poured his wisdom into their hearts through parable and prose. He instructed their minds with signs, symbols, and types fulfilled. He revealed the heart, the holy will of the Father. He revealed his own identity to them in such a way that they could only wonder and ask, “Who is this that even the wind and the seas obey him?” Why, he is Lord over all. He taught his own, but he also taught the world, preaching the Kingdom and repentance. Many received the word that the Sower sowed into their hearts, but still others rejected. For those with eyes opened, he revealed the secret of the Kingdom of God, his Father. The Son taught.

The Son joined his teaching ministry with transformation, a miracles ministry. He pursued the people with a heart of wisdom, and unveiled his Lordship with a heart of compassion. The Son walked with sympathy on his sleeves, and grace in his garments. Grace, indeed, for one whose hand, at the very touch of his hems, was healed. Sympathy, indeed, for the paralyzed, the blind, the febrile, the mute, the demon-possessed. Power, indeed, for the dead, who’d rise to tell the story.

Jesus did all of this, while night encroached upon him, while the demons hounded him. He walked this way, while the people pursued him, never letting him close his eyes for a wink. Never a place to rest his head, our Savior was always going, going, going. He was a man on a mission, indeed the God-Man with a mission from heaven. There was not a minute to waste. The Son transformed.

Let us walk wisely in the days we’ve been given and despite the trials we’ve been gifted. William Gurnall wrote, “The saint’s sleeping time is Satan’s tempting time.” How will we use these God-given days? Will we speak a word of healing, and offer a ministry of mercy? How will we be on our guard and keep away from temptations? Are we full of God’s Word? Let’s look carefully how we walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time. These were the Son’s middle days, which guide us all our days.

The Son’s Final Days

As some of us have been learning, getting old is not for the young. New trials come our way, and our heart is forced to face more and more loss, and a lot of it. Although the Son was no Octogenarian, the Christ’s final days are to be our model always. As the days of evil intensified, we ask again, “How’d the Son walk?” As the night’s darkness grew thicker, did the Son’s lifeblood grow thinner? Was his vision of his mission obscured by the darkness of evil days?

The first day of his last week on earth looked like the morning joys, bright shining as the sun. As the humble King rode lowly to the ground on a donkey, the crowds rejoiced. “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” came shouts of joy. The days appeared to promise no evil at all but only goodness: endless victory and perfect peace. But this praise came as a waterless cloud, as a wrapped gift with nothing inside. At least, such thinking became the view of many, whose thoughts of Christ’s Kingship were this-worldly.

Although some had spread their garments on the ground for the King, others plotted to strip the King’s garments of glory from off his beautiful body. Two days before Jesus’ final Passover, the last Passover ever worth celebrating, the religious authorities, with hearts full of evil, spent the days plotting the most unjust evil ever. Feeling the pressure of the holy elite, Judas, having given his heart over to Satan already, now gave his hands to the chief priests and scribes, to hand over the Lord of Good. The dark days of evil had come not only from the world, but now from his own. His disciples, who had been instructed in the good, now fled from the very face of all good. Sorrowful but not faithful, Jesus’ own men, who had been led in wisdom, now fled in folly. The Shepherd was struck, and his sheep scattered: yes, even that sheep who unsheathed his sword. Peter’s bleating would have been better if his sounds were incomprehensible, but his words of betrayal added to his Shepherd’s bleeding.

As the days of evil entered the kangaroo night court, how did the Son walk? With no one at his side to plead the case of the innocent, will the Son save himself? Will the Son throw divine justice out the window to save his skin? Before the high priest, will the Anointed One buckle under the weight of unjust scales? The stout-hearted Son stayed true to himself, the Truth, even against a scoffing word. Even when Pilate mocked, “What is truth?” the Messiah was the pilot of his own destiny. He had the power to lay down his life, and he had the power to take it up again. Ever firm and certain of the truth of the cross, the Lord of Glory carried on.

With the false “son of the father” (Barabbas) released, the King of the Jews was forced to hang back. Soon enough he would be hanging on a cross. This was the enemy’s last attempt. Does the King of the Jews really die hanging on a cross? Is he not powerful enough to stop this? Does his Father not hear his voice? Will the angels not fly down to his rescue? Let us look carefully at how Christ walked, by not walking away from the most evil day. “Save yourself!” came the cry from below, from insincere, scoffing, condemned spirits. “Behold the man! Look at him! Pathetic! He saved others; he cannot save himself!” Ah, but little did they know that he refused to save himself, to save many sons of glory.

Let us follow the Suffering Servant on his road of suffering. Do not be foolish, but understand that the will of the Lord is not to gather the world’s gusto. It is not to reap the world’s riches, nor to seize Satan’s promises that never come true. The flesh’s harvest always yields basketsful of spoiled crops. Stay true in the time of affliction, and you shall reap a harvest of abundance from the risen Lord. Those were the Son’s final days, which guide us all our days.

The Son’s Present Days

Walk with care and wisdom, beloved, because Jesus defeated evil. The Son’s present days are days full of sun, for he is the Sun of Righteousness, who had come with healing in his wings, and which he sends to us on the wings of his Dove, our Holy Spirit. Indeed, the days are evil, and Satan would love to sift us like wheat. The roaring lion is looking for an easy lunch, but there’s no such thing as a free lunch when Jesus’ sheep are concerned. We’re off the menu, for Christ is no longer in the tomb. He came, he lived, he died, he rose. In his dying and in his rising, he conquered the day.

Now with the ever-reigning King over all, we his saints are freed up to redeem the day. Our wise efforts, full of the Spirit, come with all the resurrection power Christ gives them. Our words of good news, filled with the Spirit, turn enemies into friends of the Savior. Our acts of mercy, led by the Spirit, bring healing to our brothers and sisters. The Son of God, who walked with all wisdom, rose from the dead, ascended the heavens, and is now seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. Saints, redeem the evil days, looking carefully how you walk, knowing the will of your Father, walking in all wisdom, as you follow the steps of the Son, your Good Shepherd.