When you’re an actor, you want to hear the words “moment to moment” as part of someone’s critique about your work. It simply means that an actor is present in each moment of the performance, discovering each moment as he goes along—all while really knowing in his head how the scene ends. It’s a fresh performance, and he takes his audience with him on his journey. He doesn’t get ahead of himself and predict how he will react; he just lets the written story take him where it leads him. He is said to be “fully alive” because nothing is forced; everything is organic. It’s beautifully captivating.

It’s interesting to me how this principle applies to our daily lives as well. Life is more beautiful when we don’t get ahead of ourselves. When an actor is fully alive and present in each moment, the writer is given glory because he is giving life to the character just as it has been written. That’s how we are with our Maker! When we abide in Him, and obey Him in each moment of our lives, we bring Him glory—we are living just as He has created us to be, just as our lives have been written. We bear good fruit when we remain in Him. I don’t think anything can be more alive than something that bears fruit! That’s why Jesus says that apart from Him we can do nothing” (John 15:5).

I’m not saying don’t think of the future. I am saying do not fret about it. Just as a writer knows exactly how his characters’ lives will progress, that’s how God has intricately written our lives as well. HOWEVER, unlike actors who know exactly how a story ends, we get to live more exciting lives! We can live fully in each moment because of our assurance in a God who has everything figured out. We are meant to have lives to the FULL (John 10:10), and that is only achieved by abiding and staying present in the Lord.

Keep pace with the present…

–Uta Hagen, Respect for Acting