the rest of my life
"When those hired late in the afternoon came up they received a full day's pay." —Matthew 20:9
Maybe you have wasted your life in "doing your own thing." Now that you have given your life to Jesus, you don't want "to spend what remains of your earthly life on human desires but on the will of God. Already you have devoted enough time to what the pagans enjoy" (1 Pt 4:2-3).
Nevertheless, you feel sad that it's taken you this long to begin to live. The Lord wants to change your sorrow into joy (see Ps 30:12) by assuring you that He will give you a full-day's pay even if you've only worked for Him a very short time (Mt 20:14). The Lord "will repay you for the years which the locust has eaten" (Jl 2:25), that is, for the wasted years of life. The Lord in His mercy often saves the best for last, as He did at the wedding feast of Cana (Jn 2:10). So "give no thought to what lies behind but push on to what is ahead" (Phil 3:13).
The Lord has died to atone for your past, so forget about it. Thank Him you have the privilege of living for Him in the present. Make the following promise: "For the rest of my life, I will serve the Lord alone, in every way, with all my heart."
Prayer: Father, thank You for life, Your forgiveness, the present, and the rest of my life. I give it to You.
Promise: "Thus the last shall be first and the first shall be last." —Mt 20:16
Praise: Pope St. Pius X, born of humble beginnings, was raised up by God to serve a tumultuous, violent world.
Reference: ("For the rest of my life I will read the Bible every day." We have several tape series to help you. Overview of the Bible is six audio tapes starting with AV 10A-1 or three video tapes starting with V-10A. 15-minute Bible Teaching - New Testament is forty audio tapes starting with #700. An Introduction to each Book of the Bible is 32 audio tapes starting with AV 21-1 or 17 video tapes starting with V-21.)
Rescript: †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 4, 2013
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