I know that I'm very bad at getting down to things that need to be done. I'm for ever putting off jobs (like writing The Fisherman) to tomorrow and only getting things done at the last minute. It would be so much better if I could think ahead - work ahead - keep ahead of things.
But life is so busy these days, there's so much to do - so much choice - so many things that demand our attention NOW, that sometimes things that are really quite important get left on the back burner. But, of course, there's always tomorrow. Things will be a lot clearer in the morning.
For many of us, I fear, it's our concern for God which gets left on the back burner. We don't mean to ignore him. We fully intend to come back to faith when the children have grown up a bit - when we've got a bit more time - when we retire. But somehow it never seems to happen. There's always something urgent, something pressing, something that can't wait - an opportunity not to be missed - that won't come our way again. God, on the other hand, is always there. We can always come back to him tomorrow.
The trouble with this is, of course, that faith is really something that ought to be with us every day. It's about living life in the present. It is important today - however busy we tell ourselves we are. God is too significant for our lives always to put off thinking about him till tomorrow, or remembering him only at the big moments of birth, marriage and death. We need to have a daily practice of faith behind us if we are to be ready to handle those big moments when they come.
I won't say that it is too late to turn to God only when we reach a crisis in our lives - because in God's grace it is never too late - but it certainly helps if we are already familiar with practice of prayer and fluent in the language of faith and of praise. How often we realise to our regret that we have missed out on some great treasure only after it is no longer easily available to us! Faith in Jesus Christ in all its beauty and richness is one such treasure. Pray seize the chance to own it while there is still time to get to know it and enjoy it.
John-David Yule