As I walked I decided to turn and walk up to the High School to pray as I went past. It's a huge and imposing building with very little ascetic personality from the street side, yet the life that fills that place is incredible. We have some of the most incredible teens I've ever met in this town. But another thought also crossed my mind, how many of these young people will never know the fullness that comes from knowing who God is.
While still pondering this, I turned and crossed the street to cut through the town's cemetery... (total side note but why are schools always next to cemeteries? Just something I've noticed a lot lately). As I made my way down the asphalt street lined on both sides with head stones, I began to wonder the same question... How many here never knew the God I know? I like cemeteries, they're peaceful... almost beautiful. I wonder sometimes if this is just because of the faith I have, is it because of the savior I know that I don't mind being in a place of so much doubt when it comes to "what's next"... one thing I do know, is that as I walked along, reading names I was hit by the fact that all these men and women once also walked and breathed, worked and loved. They had good times and hard times, laughter and hatred. They did life. They served their time.
In the grave yard I noticed another thing... it's all those head stones that have a name, a birth year, but yet the person lives on. They still have time. Life is still in them. I guess this is all still on my mind from the last couple times I've had to teach/preach. A couple weeks ago I spoke on Romans 12.1-2 (see my last post for audio), which talks about offering ourselves up to God as a life to be used for His glory, and how this needs to be a daily thing. Then on Saturday at our more laid back service called Nexus, I spoke on Joel 2.12-13 which reads :
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“ Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping and mourning;
13 And rend your heart and not your garments.”
Now return to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And relenting of evil.
Return to ME.... is the call that keeps ringing in my ears these days. Both personally and even more so, corporately. God seems to be reminding me a lot that our days are short here. Our lives are but a breath and then they're gone, like mist fading with the mornings sun... what really stands when our lives have ended. Most of us will live good, fairly average lives. Full of good memories and achievements. Most will also be forgotten within a generation or two. Some seem to defy these odds but usually only by being so brutally evil, that society is forced not to forget them, in an attempt to not have history repeat itself. Even fewer are remembered for doing "good" on a global scale. But most of us will never be a Mother Teresa or a Hitler, so what are we doing that really counts.
I walked out of the cemetery and down into the rest of the town, thru houses with tree lined streets. Past families and lives of respectable comfort, convicted of our need to breathe. Not just breath for our lungs but breathe life into the lives of other people. If we know Jesus we are responsible to share him with others, but we're also burdened to be breathing life in other ways. We're called to serve our neighbors. We're called to love on strangers and friends alike... even on our enemies. God would have us rend (literally tear open) our hearts so that he can begin to work through our lives in a way that matters for eternity.
One of my teens asked me last night, "Is there any way to know how deep our selfishness goes?" The question hit me. When does my life look less like selfishness? The answer comes only when we've given up who we are in order to allow God to make us who He intends for us to be.
Life's road is an interesting thing. It's a lot shorter than most of us expect, and there's probably a whole lot more potholes and speed bumps than we'd like. The question remains, "What will we do with the time we've been given?"
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