What a week. I’ve been reminded with three unrelated people who are close to our family that life is precious, and it is also precarious.
It’s harder to remember that in modern America. We have had the best health care system in the world since sin began. I know some are convinced that we have major nutrition issues in our culture (and there are no doubt problems with chemicals, trans-fats, etc.) but life expectancy and overall health in modern times has never before approached what we take for granted today. Workplace regulations, improved transportation systems and vehicle safety, along with better rounded diets and a medical system that today routinely treats and cures injuries, diseases and conditions that took our ancestors’ lives by the millions just a generation ago, we live longer and healthier lives than ever before.
But for every one of us, it will still all come to an end some day. And it will be a surprise.
My daughter-in-law’s father is just two years older than me. Saturday he was snowboarding and oblivious to any health concerns. Tomorrow he is having emergency brain surgery to remove a rapidly growing brain tumor.
Yesterday we learned that one of Erica’s closest friends was admitted to intensive care for a perplexing condition. It was so serious that we were not sure if she would make it through the night. As I am writing this, she is still hanging on by prayer.
This morning, we learned that another close friend of the family was found unconscious. She is also in the hospital and her prognosis is still unclear.
Life is precious, and despite our improved safety standards, nutrition, and health care, it is still precarious!
And that’s why the song, “Live Like You Are Dying” is so powerful. Because we all are. We are all dying. Are you living like it? And what does that mean?
First, I think it has to mean being prepared for death. That’s what the Gospel message is all about, the good news that Jesus has taken care of the problem of death in his death and resurrection. That’s why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:55-57 – “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
But it also means living our lives in light of eternity, recognizing that everything in this life either affects eternity in a good way, or it is a waste. And I don’t know about you, but I am not interested in wasting this one earthly life that I have. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul compared our lives to building material. He said that when we do things for God and for others, it is like building with material that improves when heated. But when we do things out of selfishness, it is like building with wood, hay or straw. He said going though death is like our lives passing through a furnace. The selfish actions will all be burned away and we will have nothing to show for it or to bring into the next. Our acts of service toward God and for others will only be purified in the furnace, and will be there as reward for us for all eternity.
Life is precious, you only get this one. And life is precarious, you never know when it will end. Are you prepared for this one life to end? And are you using this one life to prepare for eternity? Because it is precious and precarious!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
What Makes It Strong?
My daughter and I were recently on a hike though the most unusual woods I had ever been in. It was a bamboo forest. Have you ever seen bamboo growing wild? While it is technically in the grass family, bamboo shoots rise higher than a most trees in the Midwest. The “forest” Erica and I hiked through was so thick that at 1:00 in the afternoon, with not a cloud in the sky, the tops shielded the sun so much so that it felt like nightfall down where we were walking.
One shoot had fallen over and Erica stepped on it. A giant crack reverberated and the shoot, still green, broke where she had stepped. I thought, “Wow, these are fragile.” I grabbed a standing shoot and started to shake it. I didn’t, but it was quickly apparent that I could pull the 30 foot tall cane down by myself. While we were walking, we heard constant banging, squeaking, and crackling, from the canes rubbing up against each other in the wind (it was almost musical). As we left the forest, I noted how strong the wind was blowing...15mph, or so. I wondered, “How does the bamboo grow so tall and remain unharmed against the forces of nature? What keeps it from being blown over in the wind?” I did notice that on the edges of the forest, many shoots were uprooted and lying on the ground, probably from the wind. But yet, there was a giant forest of them still undamaged.
And then it occurred to me. The bamboo in the forest was protected by the other bamboo in the forest. The wind blows and any stalk standing alone would be merciless against it. But in a forest of bamboo, the strength of the wind is both dissipated and the other shoots support and hold up one another. The flowering branches at the tops of the shoots were all intermingled with one another, both blocking the sun (why it was so dark down below) and holding each other up against the strength of the wind.
The bamboo forest stands tall and remains strong because it is a forest.
And so it is in Christian community.
Lone Ranger Christians are vulnerable against the attacks of Satan and pressure from the world. When God saved us as individuals, he saved us to be part of his family. We were created for community and saved to both promote it as well as participate in it. We are like bamboo. Alone, we will quickly fall prey to opposing forces. Together, we can give and receive all the support that is needed.
Are you on the fringe? Are you like the bamboo shoots that are susceptible and unsupported. Are you trying to go-it-alone? Have you yet to fully embrace the value of Christian community?
The local church is God’s brainchild, and he established it for your benefit. Dive in! Serve. Support. Be supported. If you haven’t signed up yet, join a Life Group today!
One shoot had fallen over and Erica stepped on it. A giant crack reverberated and the shoot, still green, broke where she had stepped. I thought, “Wow, these are fragile.” I grabbed a standing shoot and started to shake it. I didn’t, but it was quickly apparent that I could pull the 30 foot tall cane down by myself. While we were walking, we heard constant banging, squeaking, and crackling, from the canes rubbing up against each other in the wind (it was almost musical). As we left the forest, I noted how strong the wind was blowing...15mph, or so. I wondered, “How does the bamboo grow so tall and remain unharmed against the forces of nature? What keeps it from being blown over in the wind?” I did notice that on the edges of the forest, many shoots were uprooted and lying on the ground, probably from the wind. But yet, there was a giant forest of them still undamaged.
And then it occurred to me. The bamboo in the forest was protected by the other bamboo in the forest. The wind blows and any stalk standing alone would be merciless against it. But in a forest of bamboo, the strength of the wind is both dissipated and the other shoots support and hold up one another. The flowering branches at the tops of the shoots were all intermingled with one another, both blocking the sun (why it was so dark down below) and holding each other up against the strength of the wind.
The bamboo forest stands tall and remains strong because it is a forest.
And so it is in Christian community.
Lone Ranger Christians are vulnerable against the attacks of Satan and pressure from the world. When God saved us as individuals, he saved us to be part of his family. We were created for community and saved to both promote it as well as participate in it. We are like bamboo. Alone, we will quickly fall prey to opposing forces. Together, we can give and receive all the support that is needed.
Are you on the fringe? Are you like the bamboo shoots that are susceptible and unsupported. Are you trying to go-it-alone? Have you yet to fully embrace the value of Christian community?
The local church is God’s brainchild, and he established it for your benefit. Dive in! Serve. Support. Be supported. If you haven’t signed up yet, join a Life Group today!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
You Die Like You Lived
Even if you are not a country music fan, you are probably familiar with Tim McGraw’s, “Live Like You Were Dying.” It’s a great song with a great message.
But have you considered that most people die like they’ve lived?
I was struck with the news article I read online about the woman in Houston who was found in her home after having been dead for several months. She had a son who lived less than 10 miles from her, and other family nearby, but no one bothered to check on her or wondered why they had not heard from her. No one found it curious that her phone did not answer, or why the house was always dark. Not family, not her neighbors. One neighbor said, “She kept to herself and didn’t interact with us and we didn’t bother her.” Not even after she had been dead for months.
How sad. But it is the fruit of a life lived that way. She didn’t pursue relationships with her family, not even her own children. And they didn’t pursue back. She didn’t care about her neighbors. And they didn’t care back. I would imagine her funeral was quite empty.
I conduct dozens of funerals a year. I’m choosy about who I marry, but not who I bury. I try to take advantage of funerals in order to share the gospel. But I have to say, conducting funerals for selfish people is hard. And you can usually tell, even when you didn’t know the person. Because they almost always die like they lived. If they loved other people, they were surrounded by loved ones when dying and those loved ones make it known, not only by their presence, but by what they say and how they say it at their funeral. People die the way they lived.
How are you going to die? I’m not asking, “if”. We know that answer...you will and it will probably take you by surprise. But how you die, whether alone or surrounded by loved ones, is being determined now...by whether or not you are loving those ones who could be there when you need them and when you are gone.
How much you accumulate, how many arguments you win, juicy info you learned or shared about others, things you did for yourself, none of that is going to be precious to you as your life comes to a close. But loved ones you have gathered by loving others selflessly today...that’s what will matter, and they will be precious. I hope you are busy gathering them now.
“Live like you are dying.” It’s a good saying. “You die like you are living.” That’s a true saying. But you really get something when you put the two together. If you live like you are dying, you’ll die like you really lived.
But have you considered that most people die like they’ve lived?
I was struck with the news article I read online about the woman in Houston who was found in her home after having been dead for several months. She had a son who lived less than 10 miles from her, and other family nearby, but no one bothered to check on her or wondered why they had not heard from her. No one found it curious that her phone did not answer, or why the house was always dark. Not family, not her neighbors. One neighbor said, “She kept to herself and didn’t interact with us and we didn’t bother her.” Not even after she had been dead for months.
How sad. But it is the fruit of a life lived that way. She didn’t pursue relationships with her family, not even her own children. And they didn’t pursue back. She didn’t care about her neighbors. And they didn’t care back. I would imagine her funeral was quite empty.
I conduct dozens of funerals a year. I’m choosy about who I marry, but not who I bury. I try to take advantage of funerals in order to share the gospel. But I have to say, conducting funerals for selfish people is hard. And you can usually tell, even when you didn’t know the person. Because they almost always die like they lived. If they loved other people, they were surrounded by loved ones when dying and those loved ones make it known, not only by their presence, but by what they say and how they say it at their funeral. People die the way they lived.
How are you going to die? I’m not asking, “if”. We know that answer...you will and it will probably take you by surprise. But how you die, whether alone or surrounded by loved ones, is being determined now...by whether or not you are loving those ones who could be there when you need them and when you are gone.
How much you accumulate, how many arguments you win, juicy info you learned or shared about others, things you did for yourself, none of that is going to be precious to you as your life comes to a close. But loved ones you have gathered by loving others selflessly today...that’s what will matter, and they will be precious. I hope you are busy gathering them now.
“Live like you are dying.” It’s a good saying. “You die like you are living.” That’s a true saying. But you really get something when you put the two together. If you live like you are dying, you’ll die like you really lived.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Are you Jean Valjean or Inspector Javert?
Have you seen Les Mis? Many of us were familiar with the story long before this most recent Hollywood version hit the theaters last month. There was a 1996 version of the movie which was well received, more than a couple of theatrical versions, and the Broadway rendition being the basis for this recent movie. The story was written by French playwright Victor Hugo, who first wrote it as a novel and then a play. It moved from France, to Great Britain, and then to the United States where it became a global phenomenon.
This most recent movie was received with mixed reviews, both by critics and the public. And while I understand the producer’s desire to stick with the Broadway production of making the entire play a musical, I could have gone without the singing dialect. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the music...loved the songs and have downloaded a couple to my iPhone. But when the characters were talking with each other, why couldn’t they have just TALKED? I guess that’s just my lack of artistic appreciation.
But the story...what a story! It so well illustrates the choice each of us must make in how we handle grace that is offered to us.
Jean Valjean was given grace and in appreciation, he lived the rest of his life passing it on to others, becoming a conduit of God’s grace.
Inspector Javert, on the other hand, lived his life with legalism, judgmentalism, and a strict commitment to the kind of justice that only God can meet. When he was offered grace, he didn’t know what to do with it and his rejection of it eventually drove him to self-destruction. How sad.
Les Misérables is the story of us. You are either Jean Valjean or Javert. God offers you the same kind of forgiveness and restart that Jean Valjean and Javert were offered. Like them, you do not deserve it and you cannot earn it. But you can receive it. And if you do, or if you have, you will pass it on.
So are you going through life as a conduit of God’s grace for others? Or are you going through life like Javert, eager to dole out your version of justice and holding everyone to a standard that even you cannot meet? How you honestly answer that is indicative of what you have done with the grace God offers you.
So... are you Jean or Javert?
This most recent movie was received with mixed reviews, both by critics and the public. And while I understand the producer’s desire to stick with the Broadway production of making the entire play a musical, I could have gone without the singing dialect. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the music...loved the songs and have downloaded a couple to my iPhone. But when the characters were talking with each other, why couldn’t they have just TALKED? I guess that’s just my lack of artistic appreciation.
But the story...what a story! It so well illustrates the choice each of us must make in how we handle grace that is offered to us.
Jean Valjean was given grace and in appreciation, he lived the rest of his life passing it on to others, becoming a conduit of God’s grace.
Inspector Javert, on the other hand, lived his life with legalism, judgmentalism, and a strict commitment to the kind of justice that only God can meet. When he was offered grace, he didn’t know what to do with it and his rejection of it eventually drove him to self-destruction. How sad.
Les Misérables is the story of us. You are either Jean Valjean or Javert. God offers you the same kind of forgiveness and restart that Jean Valjean and Javert were offered. Like them, you do not deserve it and you cannot earn it. But you can receive it. And if you do, or if you have, you will pass it on.
So are you going through life as a conduit of God’s grace for others? Or are you going through life like Javert, eager to dole out your version of justice and holding everyone to a standard that even you cannot meet? How you honestly answer that is indicative of what you have done with the grace God offers you.
So... are you Jean or Javert?
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