Every day matters (or, no day matters). Do yours?

Giving Tuesday. Thankful Thursday. Black Friday. Cyber Monday. The next week is crowded with focus days calling out a culture that has come to live in an alternate reality of 24/7/365. These days, we’re living Groundhog Day: not the Punxsutawney Phil version, but the Bill Murray model where it’s the same day – every day – in an evitable do-over continuum, ad nauseam.

Giving Tuesday was launched in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y (the Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Assn) and the United Nations Foundation. Their goal: get people to spend a day on generosity, before the entire consumer world invested a month in buying-wrapping-trading gifts. 

Thankful Thursday dates back to the Pilgrims and Squanto in 1621, made official by George Washington in 1789. Time out for “what are you thankful for?” before the food-fest begins…

Black Friday has been acknowledged – since 1952 – as the brick-and-mortar retail world’s pivot from red to black on their financial reports. Christmas spending redeems 11 months of losses, about the time the turkey and mashed potato left-overs run out. 

Cyber Monday went live in 2005: shoppers who didn’t get full satisfaction on Black Friday could go back to work the following Monday and keep spending – using their employer’s high-speed internet connection – as long as their monitor was not visible to their co-workers.

Days do matter; they always have. Are those the “big days?” or, are there some more important days that ought to get our attention?

Three biggies come to mind: This Day, the Day of the Lord, and That Day.

This day is consequential, for all of us. It holds great promise, but it encompasses great responsibility. It comes packed with urgency that is wisely embraced. Here’s God’s input on This Day:

“Acknowledge and take to heart This Day that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time.” (Deuteronomy 4:39-40). Every day we live is another This Day, and what we do with it has profound importance to us and all who come after us.

The Day of the Lord is a looming future feature on God’s calendar. He’s planning to undo and redo some of his work product from the Six Days (Creation) that kicked-off the Genesis account. Listen in on His plans for the future: “But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives.” (2 Peter 3:10-11).  Peter’s clear: getting a peek at God’s agenda for the Day of the Lord changes how we handle This Day.

There’s that third day we need to remember: it’s That Day. Paul was pretty savvy: before he finalized his agenda for each day, he measured it against That Day to make sure that they jived. His self-disclosure was clear: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on That Day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (1 Timothy 4:7-8). There’s a Great Day coming for people who lived This Day with profound respect for the Day of the Lord, realizing That Day will validate all of their sacrificial efforts for the Kingdom…

By the way: if you plan to participate in Giving Tuesday, we would welcome your support! Click here to make a profound investment – on This Day – that will be rewarded on That Day!

Bob Shank

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