Jim Rohn was and is one of the great mentors in my life. One of the things he taught was to never be content to just get through the day, but rather see what you can take from the day. I’d take it one step further and ask, once you’ve taken everything you can from the day, what is it you can pour back into the day? Another way to think about this would be to determine how you can take what you gained from today and use it to help others tomorrow.
I believe this aligns very well with the way Jesus lived. He didn’t get cheated on any day. He took every opportunity to share His message and glorify His Father. I think it’s the perfect example of taking what the day offers and pouring it back out into the lives of others. How can we do the same in our own lives?
The first thing we must do to take everything we can from the day is to keep our eyes open. So often we sleepwalk through our lives. We live on autopilot. Worse, we are so consumed with ourselves, our own plans and activities, we fail to see all that surrounds us.
When was the last time you stopped to admire a sunrise, sunset, or even the glorious beauty of the day? God created so much beauty for us to enjoy and we rarely give it a glance. We live in the midst of the greatest art museum in the Universe, yet we act as if we are surrounded by nothing more than a dull and drab décor.
In contrast to the beauty surrounding us, there is also the heartbreak. Such great need is all around if we would but recognize it. What might we learn if we stopped and took the time to talk to a homeless person or someone appearing down on their luck? Consider the blessing you could take away from buying someone a meal, paying for someone’s groceries, or simply sharing a kind word or smile. We can take warmth and beauty from so many places if we will only make the effort to see what it around us.
I want to live as Jesus did. I want to see the opportunity to take away a blessing from every person I meet, as well as leave them with one of their own. Another principle I learned from Jim Rohn was we should always leave a person, place, thing, or situation better than we found it. I think this is key to taking as much as possible from each day. If we focus on leaving everything we touch better than we found it, would this not allow our lives to magnify our Creator?
The point of taking everything we can from the day is to be able to return it. Everything is a gift from God intended to be used for His glory and to further His mission. We can’t glorify God by keeping things to and for ourselves. We must receive His gift, but then return it to Him so He can be blessed and glorified through our lives. We surrender everything we gain from this world so He can restore it to its intended beauty. What can you take from the day today? How will you pour it out in service to your King?