Life is cumulative

Good morning everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Selfcare”

Our Bible verse for today: “If you are wise, you are wise for your own benefit; if you mock, you alone will bear the consequences.” Proverbs 9:12 (CSB)

Our thought for today: “Life is cumulative”

This morning, I came across a great pearl of wisdom from none other than Mr. Rogers. Yes, that Mr. Rogers. Mr. Rogers of “Mister Roger’s Neighborhood,” the long-running children’s program. Fred Rogers was an intelligent, talented, and impressive man. He had a graduate degree in Childhood Development from the University of Pittsburg; he was an ordained Presbyterian minister; he was a concert pianist, a songwriter, a singer, and a puppeteer; and he was the creator, screenwriter, and actor for one of the most successful children’s programs of all time.

He was also a very wise and insightful man. He once wrote a little devotional book entitled, “The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember.” The book is for adults not children. Here’s the quote I referred to: “All life events are formative. All contribute to what we become, year by year, as we go on growing. As my friend the poet Kenneth Koch once said, “You aren’t just the age you are. You are all the ages you ever have been!””

“You aren’t just the age you are. You are all the ages you have ever been.” In other words, life is cumulative. It builds on itself and it all adds up. Life is also formative. Who you are today is a result of who you have been all the previous days of your life. Every lesson, every experience, every life event, every memory, all of it contributes to who you have been, to who you are today, and to who you will be in the future. It all builds on itself and it all combines to make you who you are. The good, the bad, and the ugly – all of it – it all matters.

This is why self-awareness is so important. We must understand our past to understand our present. Past events in your life were formative and led you to who you are today. Much of that will have been good, some of it will have been bad, but it all matters. To truly understand who you are today and why you are the way you are today, you must have an understanding of your past and the role all of that has played in bringing you to where you are today.

With respect to good selfcare, we need to take the time and do the work to understand our past. We are not to live in our past, but we do need to understand it, learn from it, and then build on it in constructive ways. This is important, so we will think more about it tomorrow. For now, I encourage you to spend some quiet time with the Lord reflecting on your past. Ask Him to help you see how it all has added up to make you the person you are.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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