SEPTEMBER 17, 2026

  “Every action of our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity.” 

― Edwin Hubbell Chapin

ECCLESIASTES 1-3

9What do workers gain from their toil? 10I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet^a no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. 12I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. 13That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. (3:9-13)

2 CORINTHIANS 9

6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;

their righteousness endures forever.”^a

10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

JOURNAL 

The more I learn, the more I realize that life was never meant to be built apart from God. So much of my fear and frustration comes from trying to secure things that were never mine to secure: outcomes, success, health, comfort, recognition, even tomorrow itself. All of these things are temporary. Ecclesiastes does not seem to be telling me that life is meaningless, but that life becomes meaningless when I ask temporary things to provide an eternal meaning they were never capable of giving.

Maybe that is why learning to live in the present has become so important to me. Today is where God has placed me. The work in front of me, the person beside me, the problem that needs solving, the opportunity to love, these are not interruptions to some greater life I am trying to reach. They are my life. I do not need to control what they eventually produce. I need to faithfully sow the seed that has been placed in my hand.

That changes the way I think about effort, grit, discipline, and brotherhood. They are not simply tools for achieving better outcomes. They are ways of loving. Effort says this moment matters enough to give myself to it. Grit says difficulty will not determine who I become. Discipline says I will choose what is right over what is easy. Brotherhood says my life is not merely about me, because every action touches someone else. Perhaps that is what Chapin meant when he wrote that every action touches a chord that vibrates in eternity.

My responsibility, then, is not to manufacture a perfect life or protect myself from every disappointment. It is to receive the power, love, and discipline God has already given me and pour them into today. I can work hard without worshiping the outcome. I can confront difficulty without fearing it. I can give generously without keeping score. I can love the people God puts in my path without needing anything in return.

And then I can surrender the harvest to God.

Maybe that is what it means to truly live: to be fully present, to do good while I am here, to love generously, to stand firm when life becomes difficult, and to trust that what God is doing through these ordinary days reaches much farther than I can presently see.

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.