Monday, December 14, 2009

The Best Day of Your Life - Apples of Gold - December 14, 2009 -vi-

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Apples of Gold
 

Radio Script for December 14, 2009

“The Best Day of Your Life”

 

Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.

What can you do with a small block of pine, four nails and four little plastic wheels?

That’s what I wanted to know when they passed out the little kit to us Cub Scouts.

I was only seven years old, but it was time to enter the world of fast cars and fast times.  It was time to enter . . . The Pinewood Derby.

So my dad gave me a sharp knife and told me to get to whittling.  It’s a wonder I still have all my digits. 

He didn’t get too involved, and it showed.  I painted my car red, white & blue, probably using leftover paint, and called it The Patriot. 

Dad did jump in at the end, probably to save the family name.  He drilled a hole in the back and added a fishing weight for that extra burst of speed.

Now if you’re new to the Pinewood Derby, each Scout makes his own car, within regulations, including a weight limit.  But there is a lot of room for creativity.  And I think the idea is to get the father and son to work together.

There is no motor; the cars are propelled by gravity.  You set them at the top of the track, release the lever, and the first car across the finish line wins.

Well The Patriot did not win.  And for some reason I kept wanting to call it The Patroit

But we did come in third, and maybe dad got a taste of glory, because next year we tried harder and came in second.

So the next year was going to be our year!  We were Pinewood Derby veterans, and we knew what it would take to win.  And one of the key ingredients was graphite.  You gotta have graphite, man, if you want to win the Derby. 

And today I still have my first place ribbon.  That’s right folks.  You are talking to Mr. First Place.

One problem, though.  That year they decided to crown a Grand Champion.  Nobody gave two hoots about first place once they trotted out the Grand Champion, and it sure wasn’t me.

And that was it.  That was the pinnacle of my Pinewood Derby career.

Thank heavens it was not the pinnacle of my life.  What a sorry life I would have if all I could do is look back to 4th grade and say, “That was the best day of my life.”

In fact, that is a phrase I don’t really like, “the best day of my life.”  People said that to my daughter before her wedding, “It will be the best day of your life!” 

Good grief, I hope not.  Yes, you want it to be a great day, but you know what?  I don’t ever want my best day to be behind me.  What kind of life is that?

Even for people who reach great heights.  “Hi, I’m Kurt Warner, and the best day of my life was when we won the Super Bowl.”  “I’m Neil Armstrong, and the best day of my life was when I walked on the moon.”

Those are great days, don’t get me wrong, but what a sad life if your best day is behind you.  All you can do is look in the rearview mirror and watch it fade into the distance – and keep talking about it. 

And I’ve thought about this.  What would it be like to be known as the “former” such and so?  As in, your main identity is not in whom you are currently, or what you are doing, but it’s something you used to be. 

I don’t want to be a former anything, at least as far as my main identity, as in who I am and who I see myself to be. 

Think about Billy Graham, in his advanced years.  Is he Billy Graham, the former evangelist? 

No, that is not his core identity.  That is not who he is. 

And if you are a retired minister or missionary, that is not your core identity. 

Our main identity is this.  We are children of the King, and our best days are ahead of us! 

First John 3:2 says, “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.  But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”

Second Timothy 4:8 says, “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.”

I like that phrase “on that day.”  That, my friend, will be the best day of our life to that point, and that is the day we are looking forward to.  We don’t spend our lives looking in the rearview mirror.  How depressing!

First Corinthians 2:9 says, “…no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him…”

First Corinthians 15:52 says, “…for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”

First Thessalonians 4:17 says, “After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.  And so we will be with the Lord forever.”

There is a day coming, “that day,” when we will be changed, and we will be with the Lord forever.

That is the trump day that will trump all the previous days. 

Thank God we don’t have to look in the past to find our best day.  We aren’t forced to reminisce about the day we were married or the day we won the big game, or heaven forbid, the day we got a Cub Scout blue ribbon. 

We Christians have many great days ahead of us.  And coming soon is one glorious day, and compared to all our other days so far, that day will be the best day of our life.


Comments?

E-mail me:  dougapple@wave94.com.

May God bless you today!  With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.


© 2009 The Arrow’s Tip 
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)

Why “The Arrow’s Tip”?  Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold.  Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.”  I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.

Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for
Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL  32315
(850) 926-8000

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