My Little Devotional: "Time's Up"

Inspiration for Today’s Devotional: “The Perfect Pear”

In one of the more sobering and emotional episodes of the entire series, we are treated to the story of Grand Pear, his daughter, Pear Butter, and her relationship and eventual marriage to Bright Macintosh. Pear Butter and Bright Mac came from opposite families on either side of a long-standing family rivalry and feud, and were forced to keep their relationship secret for years as they knew neither of their respective families would ever approve. When the secret was exposed to Grand Pear on the day of what was supposed to be a covert wedding, he demanded that his daughter choose either him and her family or that of her new husband. Forced into a position that broke her heart, Pear Butter ended up choosing to stay with Bright Mac, and as a result Grand Pear disowned her and left town without her.

Full of anger and bitterness, it's implied Grand Pear never saw Pear Butter or spoke to her again for her choice; separated both from her and his three grandchildren. One day, when he was now an old man, he learned the unfortunate news: she passed away while she was still young. And Grand Pear learned the sad truth that if he had ever wanted to see his daughter again he had lost his chance forever, and that he would live the rest of his life knowing the last things he ever said to her were words of rejection and anger.

And all because his grudge ended up being more important to him than his child.

The Bible says in Ephesians 4:26, “”In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,”. As this episode makes abundantly clear, this instruction, like all instruction in the Bible, is not merely a warning against sin that leads to death but a stark warning of one of the biggest mistakes we can make with our lives. As the infamous proverb has said: “Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.”

Grand Pear learned that lesson too late, and there are many people like him in the real world. I’ve known a few myself, and at times I wonder how much I emulate him.

Today’s message I feel is poignant and to the point, so I have little need to elaborate on it save to re-share this poem by Robert H. Smith.

“The clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour.

To lose one’s wealth is sad indeed,
To lose one’s health is more,
To lose one’s soul is such a loss
That no man can restore.

The present only is our own,
So live, love, toil with a will,
Place no faith in “Tomorrow,”
For the Clock may then be still.”

Suggested Prayer: “Lord God, out of all the many blessings you have given me in my life, I thank you for the most precious of all: today. If there is good I can do, a wrong I can redress, a relationship I can rebuild, a chance to say I love you, or an opportunity to decide where I will spend eternity today, please give me the strength to do it now. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Gratefully, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.”