Between the Almost and the Not Yet

Ask any kid on a car journey about liminal space, and they will stare at you blankly.  But they all know the experience of liminality.  And so do you.  We find ourselves in liminal spaces all the time. How do I know?  Ever asked or answered this question on a road trip? “Are we there yet?” If you have answered with the words, “almost” or “not yet”, you understand the concept of  a liminal space. They are those transitional spaces in our lives that come between the Almost and the Not Yet.  They are transitory spaces.  Places where you cross one threshold but you are not quite to where you are going. 

In a house, we would call them entryways or hallways.  A place, not to stay, but to get from one place to another.  Get trapped in an entryway by someone blocking your entrance and someone behind you wanting to get in and you experience one of life’s teaching moments.  There is nothing quite so awkward as being stuck in a liminal space. An elevator would be another great example of that.  It is used to get from one floor to another, and that is extremely helpful,  but to get stuck in one can suddenly become frightening. Even hanging out in a stairwell of building leaves us feeling out of sorts.  Use it the way it was designed, and it is useful.  Stay there too long and it begins to feel a bit creepy.

In our world today, we find ourselves at that awkward place of liminality.  We are not yet through the pandemic, but almost.  We can see light at the end of the tunnel, and we certainly aren't where we were a year ago, but we aren’t yet back to normal.  That teen with a learner’s permit? Liminal state.  That pursuit of a degree?  Liminal stage of life.  They are phases to pass through but not to stay.  To be in a liminal state means that we are in transition,  moving to another stage, another place or another level. We have left one place and stage, but we have yet to arrive at our new place or stage.  And liminal phases almost always leave us feeling unsettled, unfinished or unresolved. There is something about leaving that liminal place and crossing into a more permanent or resting place that gives us the resolution we crave.

Moving from the kitchen down the hallway to the bedroom gives our purpose fulfillment.  We find sustenance in the kitchen and rest in the bedroom, but the hallway is not a place we typically hang out.  Its main purpose is to be the thoroughfare that gets us from one place to the other.  Necessary, to be sure, but not designed to be a destination.

Consider that one of the greatest liminal spaces for the Christian, that place between the Almost and the Not Yet, is simply called…mortal life.  Consider this: we know we have salvation in Christ as believers, because of what He did for us on the cross, and once we believe, we have left our old life behind,  but the fulfillment of that in its entirety is not yet.  And it won’t be until we cross the portals into heaven. This life, though it has many places of fulfillment and resting and enjoyments, albeit countered by pain, sorrow, loss and death, is really only a liminal space. 

From the womb to the tomb, this journey we are on is not a place we are to crave staying, any more than we would desire to always stand in the foyer or camp out in the hallway.  And even when we arrive at the tomb, it too, in reality, is only a liminal place.  We are, for lack of a better way to view it, stuck between the almost and the not yet.  In fact, according to scripture there are only two ultimate destinations-Heaven or Hell. And that isn’t so much a place as it is a Person. While I believe heaven and hell can be physical locations,  I believe they are more accurately descriptions of either being with Jesus or away from Him.

All through scripture, God continues to remind us that, though we were born here, this is only the hallway to heaven.  He seeks to help us understand that He intentioned more for us in the beginning, and though we blew that plan to pieces through our sin,  through Jesus, God desires to rescue us from our liminal spaces, both physical and mental, and deliver us to a place of true destiny; our ultimate destiny.   A place where we will finally discover in totality, who we really are, and how we can live into that for eternity. To know and be truly known…and totally belong.

That destiny can start here and now.  It is one of purpose and intentionality: to pursue the Creator God in personal relationship, to seek and discover how God has put us together and to utilize those gifts to help others see the futility in seeking anything on this earth as a final destination.  Wealth?  Fleeting.  Power? Fickle and damaging.  Fame? Here today, forgotten tomorrow.  All liminal spaces.  None of them are permanent destinations.  Those who pursue them find, after attaining a certain amount of any or all,  that there is still more of each to seek after.  And even if you could attain all of the money that exists in the world, all of the power that is available and all the fame you possibly could attain, the burning question would still be: Is this all there is?  Now what?

They are the same questions that all seek.  And the answers?  No.  This isn’t all there is.  You have an ultimate destiny and it is found in the person of Jesus Christ. Now what?  Perhaps Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, can answer what we are to be doing until our ultimate Destiny-Jesus, comes to take us to our ultimate home-heaven, as we wait between the Almost and the Not Yet.

Eccl. 12:13    That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty.

Heb. 12:1    Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. ² We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.

Hold on my friends…until the FINALLY HERE arrives.

Step Away Before You Re-engage

Hey Christian Leader…are you tired?  Mentally exhausted?  Physically drained?  Emotionally spent?  Me too. What we have been going through the past months (and especially the last 2 weeks) is enough to drain the life out of the best of us.  Unless you are a person who thrives on quarantine and conflict…or conflict in quarantine…or some other combination of the same, if you are like me (and because you are human…I know that in at least some ways you are) you can only take so much of the fevered pitch before you have to step away.

And that’s ok.  You can’t sustain the emotional knife edge for very long anyway.  So, let me invite you, first, to step away. Perhaps for only a few hours, or just an afternoon. Maybe a day or weekend.  Step away and unplug.  Disconnect from the news.  It will be there when you get back-and it will still be mostly bad.  Take leave of your social media platforms for a while.  The discussions will be still be there, and just as heated, when you get back.  For your own mental health’s sake, back away, unplug, disconnect and take some time reconnecting to the Source of peace and mental health.

As I look around at the events in today’s world, I see the social injustice and racism, the riots and demonstrations, the verbal volleys on social media, the political posturing and the name calling.  My emotions run higher as I come to understand the intolerable things that people of color continue to have to bear and the senseless killings of innocent people.  It IS an outrage.  And it NEEDS to stop.  MUST stop.

Alongside that, protests that start peacefully enough suddenly turn violent, and more lives are lost, buildings are burned and looted and justifications are put forth as to why it should be that way.  And dialogs that could be productive, cease.  And defensiveness escalates with emotions that are already running high and understanding ceases.  Battle lines are drawn and enemies are declared.

But stop.  Step back and consider.  PEOPLE aren’t our enemies.  They are simply victims of our one great enemy, the devil.  He has sold us all different versions of the same lie… “YOU can be like God.”  In essence…YOU. CAN. BE. GOD! (really only for you, but that’s in the fine print). But we take that to mean that WE are the ultimate cause in the Universe.  

But we, who belong to the King of Kings, must look at thing a bit differently.  We must recognize first, that He is God…and not we ourselves.  And as God, He does call His followers to right the wrongs and lift the lowly and champion the cause of those who are oppressed.  But we must do it in HIS way in order for lasting change to take place.  All other methods simply breed resentment and when the time is right, resentment spews forth hatred, which ends up bringing death.

This is why it is so important to stop, step back and unplug for a bit before we re-engage.  In fact, before any of us go running off to right wrongs, we must be under HIS control and not our own.  How do we do that?  Isaiah 1 gives us a clue.  Isaiah is addressing the church and the inherent problems that come with a group of people who are only partially committed to the Lord.  Here is a sampling of the things that God was saying in a vision to Isaiah.

Is. 1:2               Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth!

                        This is what the LORD says:

            “The children I raised and cared for

                        have rebelled against me.

³           Even an ox knows its owner,

                        and a donkey recognizes its master’s care—

            but Israel doesn’t know its master.

                        My people don’t recognize my care for them.”

⁴           Oh, what a sinful nation they are—

                        loaded down with a burden of guilt.

            They are evil people,

                        corrupt children who have rejected the LORD.

            They have despised the Holy One of Israel

                        and turned their backs on him.

He goes on to list some of the problems the country was currently having.  The country was in ruins.  Towns are burned.  Foreigners are plundering and destroying.  Sound familiar?  And how did God’s people respond.  By doing more of the same thing they were doing that caused their destruction in the first place.  Gave more offerings.  Said more prayers.  Offered more sacrifices and hoped for the best…with no internal change.

And God said. ¹¹         “What makes you think I want all your sacrifices?”

                        says the LORD.

            “I am sick of your burnt offerings of rams

                        and the fat of fattened cattle.

¹³         Stop bringing me your meaningless gifts;

                        the incense of your offerings disgusts me!

            As for your celebrations of the new moon and the Sabbath

                        and your special days for fasting—

            they are all sinful and false.

                        I want no more of your pious meetings

¹⁵         When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look.

                        Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen,

                        for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.

Then God comes to what He is really interested in.

¹⁶         Wash yourselves and be clean!

                        Get your sins out of my sight.

                        Give up your evil ways.

¹⁷         Learn to do good.

                        Seek justice.

            Help the oppressed.

                        Defend the cause of orphans.

                        Fight for the rights of widows.

Is. 1:18           “Come now, let’s settle this,”

                        says the LORD.

            “Though your sins are like scarlet,

                        I will make them as white as snow.

            Though they are red like crimson,

                        I will make them as white as wool.

Did you catch that?  And some are saying…. “Yes!  Let’s go fight and help the oppressed!  Let’s defend the cause and rights of orphans and widows”.  But not yet.  Stay unplugged for just a little longer.  Because in verse 18 God says: Let’s settle this. NLT. Other versions say “Come let us reason together.”  In other words, before you run off, there is something that needs to happen in your life.  You need to let me get rid of your sins and your evil desires.  You need to be washed!  Your words, your actions, your attitudes all need to be laid down so that you can accomplish things in the way I want them accomplished.  Through Love.

That means that, no matter your color or ethnicity, as a child of God, after letting Christ deal with your sins, you see His call to take up the cause of the oppressed in the way that Jesus would have you do it, rather than through use of the world’s might-makes-right-tactics.  

What would that look like?  It would look like you using whatever gifts and abilities the Lord has placed within you, and utilizing those as you follow the Holy Spirit’s stirrings in your heart to work to alleviate injustice no matter where it is found, in a manner in keeping with how you were created.

It means you put your shoulder to the wheel and utilize your influence for lasting change in a way that the outside, unbelieving, world can respect. It means you refuse to use their catchphrases that would inflame, choosing thoughtfulness and carefully chosen words instead, that can bring calm.  It means that you recognize the diversity that God has put into all people and you celebrate, rather than denigrate that.  Beyond ethnic differences, expand your view to include gender, generational curses, culture (community, church or school) and even personality types.

Wait, what?  I was tracking with you until you made that last turn.  Ok.  Let me break it down.  We are all different.  VERY different, which, if you haven’t noticed in all the realm of creation and nature, is exactly the way our Father likes things.  Which means that I don’t have to respond exactly like you in order to support you, whatever your race, circumstances, etc. might be.   I can be free to support the cause of justice in ways that you might not have even considered.  

For example, I’ve seen many in recent days write an iteration of this idea.  “If you are silent, you are complicit to the problem.”  Meaning, basically, if you are not saying something against this, you are guilty of spreading it.  I get the ideology behind that statement, especially coming from a non-believer, but what that statement actually does is simply shut off every other avenue of support I may have been able to offer if I happen to be, say, an introvert.  If I were an introvert, I wouldn’t want to march and shout things out.  I would probably shy away from conflict or controversy, and I wouldn’t want to post on my social media because I don’t want to be noticed. But, if encouraged in a more constructive way, I might donate to a cause or work behind the scenes in silence, or reach out in love to a friend of another race.  But if my silence is my complicity, then with one broad brush stroke, I have been de-valued and my potential contribution reduced to nothing.  That too, is an intolerant act, against someone whose only crime was to be born with the "wrong" type of personality.

So perhaps, instead of those type of statements, often written when emotions are running high and passion is running deep, what if we ran our emotions and passions through the filter of the Holy Spirit and in an attitude like that of the early church facing the injustices to the Greek widows,  engaged in dialog to see how we might, together, move as God’s people to address the issue of injustice in practical ways using all of our combined gifts?  Dialog in the Spirit and then implement in His power.

James gives us good counsel when it comes to how we might proceed.

James 1:19    My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. ²¹ Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

Work on yourself first.  Then look out for others.

James 1:26    If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. ²⁷ Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

May we allow God to change our hearts and then may that change help us to reach out to right the wrongs, bring justice where it is needed, stand with the oppressed and lift the fallen.  And may He accomplish it, not through our anger, but through His love and the power of His Spirit living in each one of us.  

Ok…now you can go re-engage...with a regenerated heart and with the love of Jesus.

Be Amazed...Again...(For the very first time)

Exhibit B in our journey this week on learning to be amazed once again.

Your name is Jairus. You’ve come a long way to find Jesus. Your only daughter is dying. The doctors have all given up and you’ve taken her home to die. But somehow, you just can’t give up without trying everything. One of your servants has seen Jesus heal and suggests that if you could just find Jesus and have him come, your daughter might not die. You search frantically, from one town to the next. The reports are all the same. “You just missed Him. He was here about 2 days ago and healed most of the people in the town.”

Hope grows stronger, while on the other side of the emotional roller coaster, you become frantic as you realize that you are a few days behind him. You redouble your efforts, trying to reach Him and get Him home before it is too late. Finally, you come racing into a town and discover a large crowd of people gathered around. This must be Jesus. Pushing your way through the crowd, you come face to face with Him. “Master, you must come now!” The urgency is in your voice as you try to get Jesus to follow you back through the crowd. He motions for you to lead and begins to follow. You look back and realize that He has stopped and is asking who touched Him. You turn back to urge Him to hurry when one of your servants rides up to the edge of the crowd on horseback and motions for you.

You can tell by the look on his face that it’s too late. “Don’t trouble the Master any further,” he says, “She’s dead.” Grief wrenches your soul and you slump to the ground. The "if only’s" come. If only you had found Him quicker. If only He had been closer to your home. If only she had held on for a little while longer. If only there were no crowds to slow Him down.”

A hand on your shoulder jars you back to reality. “Don’t worry, just believe.” Jesus helps you to your feet and begins walking towards your town, He and his disciples helping you as you stumble along in a haze of grief. You sleep little that night, and the next day is a blur as you head home. As you come near your house, the mourner’s are there in full force. It really hits home. She’s dead. 

Jesus simply quiets them and says, “Don’t mourn. She’s sleeping.” Laughter meets His statement. How can Jesus mock your pain with such a statement. You enter to find your wife weeping and lying across the bed holding the lifeless form of your daughter. Jesus gently lifts her and you rush to hold her, to hold each other, as Jesus now looks at the little body on the bed.

Gently, yet with authority he says, “Little girl, I say to you arise!” Her eyes flutter open as you heart beats wildly. Your wife screams with joy and leaps toward the bed as your beloved daughter sits up. Suddenly the three of you are laughing, crying, talking, hugging, kissing, and marveling at what just happened. You look again…and He is gone.

Are you amazed yet? Can you just shrug it off with an "I've heard all this before!"? Or is there something, even now, that is begging you to be astounded and astonished at a God who cared so much for you and me that He came and gave us a peek at what God is like. Someone who calls the unloveable. Someone who forgives the hookers... Someone who wants to turn your grief into joy. Look again...for the very first time. And be amazed!

Could you love a God like that?

Author Ken Gire wrote a series of books back in the 90’s that quickly became some of my favorites.  One of them is entitled Incredible Moments with the Savior.  I want to pull a story from that book and see if we can see things a bit differently. 

“Nain is a cozy community carved out of a rocky slope overlooking the valley of Jezreel.  It is springtime, and the valley is a sea of wind-blown grass, frothing with wildflowers; the air, redolent with the blossoms of fruit trees. 

But in the valley of this widow’s heart, it is the dead of winter.

Twice, death has reached its icy fingers into her family and wrenched loved ones from her.  First her husband.  Now her son.  Her only son.

For years she has faced an uncertain future. Now she faces it alone. With no one to hold her hand.  With no one to steady her steps.

No one to comfort her when she cries herself to sleep at night.  No one to wake up to in the morning.  No one to fix breakfast for.  No one to share the holy days, or the common days, or any days at all for that matter.  No one to grow old with.  And no one to look after her in the autumn of life.

No one.

Nothing remains but an empty shell of a house.  A house that years ago gave up waiting for a husband to come home from work.  And now, no longer waits for that husband’s son.

The sagging house is slumped in its own grief, retreating into itself, silent and still.  There are no sounds of animated talk that chronicle the day.  No ripples of laughter.  No late-night conversations.  Only quiet tributaries of grief running from room to room.

Bundled in her heart is a too-short stack of memories.  Not enough to cloak her from the chill of her present loneliness, let alone to keep her warm in her old age.

The open coffin leads the way to the cemetery outside of town.  Trailing in its wake is the weeping mother, relatives, close friends, and other mourners.  Interspersed throughout the procession are the melancholy, dove-like calls of flutes and the plaintive tinkling of cymbals.  A chorus of women chant their laments while men pray and plod along in silent vigil.

But at the same time this crowd is leaving Nain, another crowd is entering.  The one is following a coffin; the other is following Christ.  The one is filled with sorrow and despair; the other, with excitement and hope.

In respect for the dead the crowd following Jesus pulls back, allowing the funeral procession to thread its way through the gate. 

There, life and death stand on two distinct islands.  The bridge between the two is a mother’s grief, arching over a torrent of tears.

When Jesus sees the tears wrung from the mother’s heart, every thought that had preoccupied Him on His journey flees.  The whole of His attention focuses on this shattered woman.

All He knows is her desperation.  All He feels is her pain.  All He sees is her tears.

And those tears are the flame that melts his heart.

Jesus extends his hand to touch the coffin, and the procession lurches to a stop.  He isn’t concerned with protocol or etiquette or even with the fact that touching a coffin would render Him unclean in the eyes of the rabbinic law.  His only concern is for this desperate mother.

“Don’t cry.”

The words are not out of a textbook on pastoral care.  They seep from the cracks of a heart bursting with compassion.  Jesus turns to the woman’s son.

‘Young man, I say to you, get up.’

Two words to the bereaved, eight to the deceased.  But that is enough.  Enough to snatch a son from death’s pilfering hand and return him to the arms of his mother.

The young man sits up and talks!  What he says we are not told.  But surely one of the first words to stumble from his lips is ‘Mother’.

The miracle is an incredible display of the Savior’s power.  But there is something even more incredible about this auspicious meeting at the town gate.

This mother had not asked for a miracle.  She had not thrown herself at the Savior’s feet and begged for the life of her son.  She hadn’t demonstrated great faith.  In fact, she hadn’t demonstrated any faith at all.  As far as we know, she didn’t even know who Jesus was.

That is what is so incredible.

It’s a miracle done without human prompting.  Without thought of lessons to be taught to the disciples.  Without thought of deity to be demonstrated to skeptics.  It is a miracle drawn solely from the well of divine compassion.  So free the water.  So pure the heart from which it is drawn.  So tender the hand that cups it and brings it to this bereaved mother’s lips.”

 (Incredible Moments with the Savior, Ken Gire ©1990, Zondervan,  pp 41-45)

Let me ask you:  Could you love a God like that?  Would you not want to be near One who has already been moved by compassion at your plight?  He has already responded and provided a way for you to be reunited with your loved ones.  Already death has been conquered and only awaits divine Word before it must retreat and give up those it, even now, holds in its icy clutches.  When Jesus, who conquered death, gives the command, there is no power in heaven or hell that can hold back those who will respond to the call of the Conquerer.  I ask you again: Could you love a God like that?

The Return isn’t about the logistics, it’s about the Person.  It isn’t about knowing the facts, as important as they may be, but about knowing the One who, out of love, has already provided for us.  It’s about relationship.

The Quiet

Quiet reigns on campus this morning as Christmas break officially started yesterday. Soft Christmas Carols are playing in my office as I sit and wonder just where this year has gone.

It has gone unbelievably fast and will soon be only a memory with its events recorded in our personal history books. And yet, we find ourselves here again. Christmas. All the lights, the commercialism, the clogged parking lots, the TV commercials calling us to buy, buy, buy. And with relatives coming, or with us traveling to see others, we long for it to be a Hallmark Christmas and hope that our family can stay away from any hot button topics. And all of that simply adds stress to the season. And as if that weren't enough, we still have 4 more gifts to buy and a few more holiday parties to attend.

We have certainly learned how to celebrate haven't we? We take a good thing and add others expectations along with our own expectations, and pile them high and deep...and then collapse under the weight of them.

But perhaps this year, maybe just for a short while, we should ponder that it just might be possible that the Christmas season should actually be more about the Quiet. Perhaps we should say, "Be still my soul and ponder the richness of life." Ponder the things that have happened this year that have brought joy, or perhaps the things that have brought pain, yet pain that was beneficial for your own growth.


Perhaps you and I should make it a point to rediscover the Quiet. Take a few moments to sit quietly outside on a clear night and just drink in the view of the stars. Or get up early and make a cup of your favorite hot beverage and sit staring out the window and just be quiet. And ponder. And along with all of your other ponderings, ponder this: There is a God who loves you beyond words. He loved you so much that He chose to come in the form of a Baby. To the quiet of a barn stall. With animals as the only observers.

It is almost unimaginable. Almost. But try. In the Quiet.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Count the Cost?

Mark 8:34-37   Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.  36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?  37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

We have this innate desire built deep within us somewhere for life.  We will go to incredible lengths to preserve life. And we should.  Life is a precious gift, not meant to be thrown away.  But sometimes we will actually inhibit the enjoyment of living life for the sake of preserving it.  Have you noticed that? 

And though I know Jesus was talking about eternal life in the passage we just read, it seems that the more insurance companies try to preserve life, the less fully life can be lived. Whoever wants to save His life will lose it.

There is something within us that wants to live.  That wants to thrive.  That wants to go beyond the everyday humdrum existence.  We want our lives to be lived…well, fully alive.  We long for more than just the day-to-day.  So many of us live for the weekends.   And we pack our weekends with  “fun” and “excitement”.  And then we go back to work on Monday worn out, but ready to exist until the next weekend.  And often we spend our lives in a dull meaningless existence, only waking up on the weekends to do the things we enjoy.

So for many of us, when we hear the words “deny yourself”, we think “I already have.”  Because in the back of our minds, we might think of someone who has more than we.

But that’s not what Jesus is talking about here.  Let’s look at that word deny.  It means to refute, refuse and renounce.   If we are talking about denying ourselves, it doesn’t mean just doing without something that we want or stopping ourselves from buying it.  It’s much deeper.  I believe that Jesus is calling us here to refute even the desires, to refuse to entertain the thoughts and even going so far as to renounce that desire in the first place.  Why does He call us to this?  First, so they don’t become a hindrance in our walk with Him. Secondly, I believe it is so we can take the resources that He has provided us and utilize them to bless others for the sake of the kingdom.

So deny yourself.  As one writer put it—Live simply so that others might simply live.

Next come those words we especially don’t like.  Take up your cross. It sounds so harsh and difficult.  And sometimes it is.  But 15^th century Scottish Presbyterian theologian and author, Samuel Rutherford wrote: Christ's cross is such a burden as sails are to a ship or wings to a bird.  I like that thought.

What Jesus is trying to do is free us from the expectations of the world.  He’s trying to help us realize that we don’t need to conform to the world’s demands, but instead, live life the way He designed us to in the first place.  Take up your cross simply means to live life in Christ, from God’s perspective and oftentimes counter-culturally.  This will mean that we will often be thought of as strange or bizarre, and Jesus said, the world may even hate us for it.

But Charles Spurgeon once wrote: “There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross- bearers here below.”

Whatever God allows you to bear, bear it with patience.  I’m not saying you can’t pray to be released from it, but like Christ in the garden of Gethsemane, we must come to the place where we are willing to pray, “Nevertheless—Not my will, but Yours be done.

If you try to save your life, Jesus said, you will lose it.  If you lose your life for the sake of the Gospel, you will find it.

Martin Luther said: A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing.

Jesus never said the way would be without tears, or that it wouldn’t be hard at times.  But He did promise to be with us all the way to the end.  He promised that His very presence would hold us and carry us, no matter what we bear. 

Nathan C. Schaeffern puts things into perspective when he writes:

At the close of life, the question will not be,

"How much have you gotten?" but "How much have you given?"

Not "How much have you won?" but "How much have you done?"

Not "How much have you saved?" but "How much have you sacrificed?"

It will be "How much have you loved and served," not "How much were you honored?"

Jesus said we must count the cost if we are to be disciples.  How much will it cost?  Everything.  Your possessions, your family, possibly even your very life.  It’s the great irony of discipleship.  If you try to save your life, you’ll lose it.  If you lose your life for the sake of the gospel—if you invest your life for the sake of the gospel, instead of living it for yourself—you’ll save it.

Count the cost.   Deny yourself.  Take up your cross.  Follow Jesus.

A Reason to Live

Man, ever since the fall, has been on quest for meaning and purpose in life.  And their search has pretty much yielded about as many different ideas as there are people.  We find tons of things to occupy our time, lots of work and free time activities, which we misconstrue to believe are the purpose of our lives.  But what we fail to realize is there is a relationship which makes life complete. Without that relationship, there is a void, a vacuum in life. Many people, even those who are well-known, can attest to that void.

For example, H.G. Wells, famous historian and philosopher, said at age 61: "I have no peace. All life is at the end of the tether." The poet Byron said, "My days are in yellow leaf, the flowers and fruits of life are gone, the worm and the canker, and the grief are mine alone." The literary genius Thoreau said, "Most men live lives of quiet desperation."

Ralph Barton, one of the top cartoonists of the nations, left this note pinned to his pillow before taking his own life: "I have had few difficulties, many friends, great successes; I have gone from wife to wife, from house to house, visited great countries of the world, but I am fed up with inventing devices to fill up twenty-four hours of the day."

Even the heady philosophers, after pondering where meaning is found, admit that it all seems meaningless.  That there is no stopping the hands of time, and that in the whole scheme of things man is pretty gutsy to stand up to the inevitable, today destined to lose his dearest loved one, tomorrow he himself will be rolled over.  Or as the book written in 1929 entitled Mysticism and Logic concludes:  “Man is proudly defiant of the irresistible forces that tolerate, for a moment, his knowledge . . . and his condemnation, to sustain alone, a weary but unyielding Atlas, the world that his own ideals have fashioned despite the trampling march of unconscious power.”

American humorist and author, Mark Twain, shortly before his death wrote, "A myriad of men are born; they labor and sweat and struggle;...they squabble and scold and fight; they scramble for little mean advantages over each other; age creeps upon them; infirmities follow; ...those they love are taken from them, and the joy of life is turned to aching grief. It (the release) comes at last--the only un-poisoned gift earth ever had for them--and they vanish from a world where they were of no consequence,...a world which will lament them a day and forget them forever."

King Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived tended to agree.  Look at Ecclesiastes chapter 1. 12 ¶ I, the Teacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13 I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! 14 I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

When you look at all of life in a true perspective, it indeed does look meaningless.  Chasing after the wind, Solomon says.  That’s productive.  So what are we supposed to do with this life?

In Chapter 2, Solomon comes to his first conclusion: Eccl. 2:24 ¶ A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, 25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?

God designed us to live life with a purpose.  He wants us to find satisfaction in whatever it is we choose to do.  But He also wants us to know that in whatever it is we find to do, there is still an overarching purpose that transcends all of our activity.  And a person who lives life without realizing what that purpose is, is like …well, let me illustrate it.

 A rich man was determined to give his mother a birthday present that would outshine all others. He read of a bird that had a vocabulary of 4000 words, could speak in numerous languages and sing 3 operatic arias. He immediately bought the bird for $50,000 and had it delivered to his mother. The next day he phoned to see if she had received the bird. "What did you think of the bird?" he asked.

She replied, "It was delicious!"

A person who lives life without understanding the purpose, doesn’t really understand the value of the gift.  They just eat the bird and go on their way.   And we see that person and we say, “What a waste! Don’t they understand the value of what they’ve been given?”

Naturalist Henry David Thoreau is often noted for his statement that most men "live lives of quiet desperation." In an attempt to avoid that kind of existence, he lived alone from 1845 to 1847 in the woods of Walden Pond, Massachusetts. In 1854, he published his experiences in the book Walden. He wrote, "I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear..."

I love that line.  “I did not wish to live what was not live, living is so dear…”  If only more people would come to understand that.  If only more Christians would live that out for the world to see and take note of.  Don’t live what is not life…  don’t waste your time on things that won’t bring more meaning to your life.  Don’t fritter away the hours without meaning and purpose.  Life was meant to be lived with a purpose.  A meaning.

Thomas Carlyle once wrote: A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder--a waif, a nothing, a no man. Have a purpose in life, and, having it, throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has given you.

“What’s your purpose?” we ask a student.  And the answer comes back, “to make good grades.”  Why?  To get into a good college.  Why?  To get a good job.  Why?   To support myself and my family?  And then what? Live a good life, travel, enjoy.”

“What’s your purpose?” we ask a housewife.  “To keep my house in running in good order…to raise my kids…to cook and clean and mend.”  And then what?  When the kids are gone…then what?

“What’s your purpose?” we ask a businessman.  To make the next deal…to get ahead…to grow my business larger…to make more money…to be a success.”

John W. Gardner, founding chairman of Common Cause, said it's a rare and high privilege to help people understand the difference they can make -- not only in their own lives, but also in the lives of others, simply by giving of themselves.

Gardner tells of a cheerful old man who asked the same question of just about every new acquaintance he fell into conversation with: "What have you done that you believe in and you are proud of?"

He never asked conventional questions such as "What do you do for a living?" It was always, "What have you done that you believe in and are proud of?"

It was an unsettling question for people who had built their self-esteem on their wealth or their family name or their exalted job title.

Not that the old man was a fierce interrogator. He was delighted by a woman who answered, "I'm doing a good job raising three children;" and by a cabinetmaker who said, "I believe in good workmanship and practice it;" and by a woman who said, "I started a bookstore and it's the best bookstore for miles around."

"I don't really care how they answer," said the old man. "I just want to put the thought into their minds.

"They should live their lives in such a way that they can have a good answer. Not a good answer for me, but for themselves. That's what' s important."  (Dr. Dale E. Turner, MSC Health Action News, July, 1993, p. 7.)

I like that question: "What have you done that you believe in and are proud of?"   I like it because it begins to refocus us away from our activity and onto who we are becoming as people.  It begins to help us see that we are more than the activities we involve ourselves in.  Too often we seek to find our identities in what we do, and not what we’ve become.  Too often, we lose ourselves in this false identity and never become who Jesus wants us to be.

Christian author CS Lewis once wrote: The glory of God, and, as our only means to glorifying Him, the salvation of human souls, is the real business of life.

That’s God’s purpose for you.  Inspired Christian author Ellen White, in her book, lThe Ministry of Healing, page 164, writes: Christian motives demand that we work with a steady purpose, an undying interest, an ever-increasing importunity, for the souls whom Satan is seeking to destroy. Nothing is to chill the earnest, yearning energy for the salvation of the lost.

George Bernard Shaw,  was quoted in the book Courage - You Can Stand Strong in the Face of Fear, (Jon Johnston, 1990 SP Publications, p. 171) as saying, “This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one: the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap, and being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”

There are only two paths. One path brings satisfaction and contentment.  The other misery.  Why?  Because the first path is what you were created to do…regardless of the occupation you choose.  The second path is what happens when you don’t know and understand and embrace your purpose.  It is as Solomon said…a chasing after the wind.

Solomon, as he finished his book of wisdom, brought it to this conclusion.

Eccl. 12:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.

Nothing else brings purpose to life.  Nothing else gives a reason to live.  Nothing else brings meaning.  God created us and knows that meaning is found in a relationship with Him alone.  He knows that purpose is found when we live out that relationship and share with others that they too can have meaning a purpose in life through a relationship with Christ.

As CS Lewis said, “The glory of God, and, as our only means to glorifying Him, the salvation of human souls, is the real business of life.”  May you go out and live life with a purpose.