Even If i Walk Alone

Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus

purpose

What Might Have Been

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I believe when we die that we will have to give an account for all the things we did in our life.  That can be an appalling and dreadful thought, because my actions have most assuredly not always been good.  While the thought of this accounting can cause us to measure our words and be more thoughtful in our deeds, there is still the reality that we as human beings tend to mess up – a lot!  As daunting as the prospect of accounting for our deeds might seem, this week I have come across a thought that strikes deeper and causes even more discomfort for me:  what if each of us were forced to watch a movie of what our life COULD have been had we not wasted time and squandered opportunity?

The movie would contain scenes of the things we could have accomplished had we not been afraid or filled with self doubt, scenes of what we could have carried out if we had made the time instead of insisting we had no time.  I imagine scenes of wild achievements had we dared to pursue our dreams, magnificent performances for Christ had we only chosen to exercise our faith.  Think of the collective good we could achieve if all of us were to determine that our movie would be an empty reel of film, because we took every opportunity that presented itself and acted on it without fear.

The encouraging and horrifying fact about all this is that it is wholly within our power to write and direct this film.  It is up to each one of us to determine what we will accomplish in this life.  Will we choose a theme of selfishness, timidity, self-doubt and the like, or will we choose a life of significance, a life that leaves this world a far better place, a life of devotion to our Creator, King and Savior?  It is within our power; we have been granted the gift of freewill and can choose each day how we shall live.  Our choices combined with the power of Christ can have an impact beyond our imagination, if we will only choose to live without fear.

We must decide each day, each hour that we will no longer live in fear.  We will focus on the things we want to accomplish for Christ and for those around us.  When your life becomes consumed by service, your dreams will change to align with those of Jesus.  We will love at any cost; we will sacrifice at every opportunity.  It’s not that we don’t have time to live a life of significance, it’s that we do not choose to do so. It’s not that we’d rather be a spectator in life, it’s just we’re too lazy to get involved.

Begin today to envision the person you want to be tomorrow, next year and five years from now.  How do you want to impact the world?  How will you serve?  How will you love?  Write it all down, read it every day.  Choose to rewrite the movie of “could have been” to the story of “what we did”.  The choice is ours and ours alone.  No one will do this for you; but you can do it for the world and for the Kingdom.

Your Last Day

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Imagine that an angel appeared to you when you woke this morning.  Imagine he told you that your life would be over at midnight, and then vanished.  What would your response be?  How would you order your day?  There would be no time for any major plans, no time for that fantastic cruise to the Bahamas or to climb Mt. Everest.  With only 18 hours or less to complete your life on earth, what would be your plan?

While everyone’s actions would be different, to be sure, I believe there are many things we would all agree we would not do.  I would not spend time in any trivial conversation, just to pass the time.  I would not spend my last hours sitting and dwelling on my failures and regrets.  I would not be afraid to tell someone that I loved them, or to introduce myself to someone I always found intimidating in any way.  I would not waste a moment bickering with friends or family over inconsequential activities, or fretting about any political speeches or sitting in front of the television.  I would not worry if the house was clean or the car was washed.

What I would want to do would be to spend every possible moment with those I love.  I would want to encourage everyone I met in hopes of leaving some sort of legacy behind.  I would certainly not be afraid to speak my mind, to tell the truth regardless of the circumstance or consequence.  I would spend much of my day in prayer, preparing myself for the next stage in my life.  I would ask God to show me what I needed to accomplish on this day, to show me those I needed to speak to, and those I needed to forgive.

As I look back over my list, I am struck by the fact that the way I would live my last day on earth is the way I should be living every day on earth.  Why are we so afraid to live this way, to live out loud for Christ?  Instead we try and live quietly, under the radar, and ultimately in insignificance.  I don’t want to be quiet; I don’t want to be insignificant; I want to live loudly.  I want to live each day as if I knew it were my last.  Join me in making a joyful noise every day we live.

What Holds You Back? Part II

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In my last post I posed the question, “What holds you back from serving Christ the way you want to, from serving Him the way you know you should?” I offered the two reasons why I am held back. Today I will look at the second reason, which is selfishness.

I’m sure we can all agree that selfishness is never pretty. It’s like a cancer that infects our soul and spreads rapidly. We want to hold onto things, whether those things are physical objects, time or ideals. To be a follower of Christ requires that we have no “stuff” of our own. If we will call Him Lord, everything we have belongs to Jesus.

Time is a big one for me; I often would rather do my own thing (or nothing at all) as opposed to serving others, praying or studying the Bible. Any of those things can be draining when done without the proper attitude. Doing those things with a humble heart of love, however, is actually incredibly invigorating. The interesting dichotomy is that if these things are so invigorating and fill us with such life, why are we so hesitant to engage in such activities?

The common thread running between the things we should be doing is that we are doing them with another in mind. That provides much less instant gratification than just doing things for ourselves. These days we are all about the instant gratification. Information can be had with a just a couple of keystrokes, advertisements come at us a mile a minute and the opportunities for entertainment are absolutely mind-numbing. It’s simply easier and more pleasurable in the short term to serve ourselves rather than others.

We must not lose sight of who we are and more importantly, whose we are. For we who swear our allegiance to Jesus, there is no turning back. Our lives will never be the same. We will never again be about instant and short term pleasures. Instead we will bask in the long term tranquility of serving our Lord. May we never lose focus of our calling; love God, love others. It’s simple, eternally gratifying and absolutely selfless.

What Holds You Back? Part I

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What holds you back from serving Christ the way you want to, from serving Him the way you know you should? Life has a way of throwing multiple obstacles in our path as we endeavor to live like Jesus. I would say satan throws these obstacles into our path, but I believe many of the obstacles are of our own creation. I previously wrote about the dangers of allowing ourselves to become too busy. Satan does not make us too busy – we do. Some of the things we fill our life with might indeed come from a subtle, evil place, but it is we who choose to indulge in such activity. I think it is important that we take full responsibility for not leading the life Christ instructs us to live.

For me, the things that hold me back can be broken down into three universal categories: time, money and selfishness. The encouraging part about this is that we can easily improve in each of these areas; there is no magic or rocket science required. Time and money are forever intertwined; we have to work to earn money to live, and that work takes time. As I have lamented in previous posts, I give away the best ten hours of my day to a job that does nothing to further the kingdom of God. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American spends 36% of their waking hours on the job (http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090621/BUSINESS/906210317/1003/BUSINESS). It makes me realize how much better the New Testament model of the Church was, where everyone came together and shared their possessions for the good of the community. In our modern age, there is little community and even less pooling of resources. Instead, each of us soldier on alone; some earn more, some earn less, but all earn for self. While we give – sometimes even generously – to various ministries around the world, we miss the point and joy of communal living. Pooling our resources would mean more time for everyone to be doing Kingdom work. I think what Shane Claiborne is doing with the “Simple Way” community in Philadelphia is amazing (http://www.thesimpleway.org/index2.html). We would do well to follow suit.

If work is holding you back from fully serving Christ, perhaps it’s time to find another job. I know this is not the best economic climate to be seeking employment, but perhaps you at least need to try. We cling to our jobs and our paychecks as if they are the most important thing in the world. I don’t know about your Bible, but mine calls that idolatry. How many of us are guilty of making an idol out of our job? If work is interfering with you being able to serve God effectively and fully, then the job needs to go; you need to find a way to make money that is more conducive to fulfilling your call to serve Christ. That call is simple: love God to the very depths of your soul, and love your neighbors (that’s everyone who’s not you!) in the same way.

Help those in need; care for the single mom’s in your community – they are the widows of our generation and they need someone to come along side of them with the love of Christ. Care for the outcasts in our society, for they are the orphans of our time; they are alone, homeless and desperate for love. James (Jesus’ brother) told us that doing these things is what true religion looks like (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=66&chapter=1&verse=27&version=77&context=verse). What’s holding you back from loving others in this way? What holds you back from giving your entire life to the service of Jesus? How have we gotten so off mission in our modern culture? We claim to be followers of Christ, but our lives look nothing like His. Determine what holds you back and eradicate it from your life. Whatever it is, cut it out, stop doing it immediately. Replace that time with time spent in prayer, study and loving others. This is the key to happiness; this is the life Christ calls us to live.

Too Busy?

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I read an article the other day that was talking about the new phenomenon of “funemployment” (http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009906070348). The article described the “funemployed” as people who had lost their jobs, but instead of getting depressed are finding immense joy in their newly found freedom. They are rediscovering balance in their lives, realizing there is more to life than work. They are realizing that they had allowed work to dictate the priorities in their lives. I think there is a great lesson to learn here.

For those of us who profess to follow Christ, who or what are we allowing to dictate our priorities? To follow Christ is to give all. That pretty well settles the question of priorities. What should be our number one priority? Our number one priority should be, must be, to follow Christ and to do so by serving others. Is that our number one priority today? If not, what have we allowed to move into first place? Are we too busy at work? Do we have too many balls in the air; are we wearing too many hats? Do we have too many social commitments, regardless of how noble those may be? Worst of all, would we simply rather be doing something else?

The Christian life is not for those lacking discipline. Don’t forget, Christ’s followers were called disciples, not merely people with a passing interest. To follow Christ requires self-discipline, dedication and a passion of the pursuit. This isn’t a game, not something we can do half-heartedly. If we are to follow Christ, we must go all in. If Christ isn’t our first thought in every situation, if He isn’t our motivation in every action, then our priorities are wrong.

We must never allow ourselves to be too busy to follow Christ. We must never find ourselves in the situation where we are trying to make time for Christ. Christ comes first; everything else must fit in the time remaining, or it must be cast aside. Don’t wait for something dramatic to happen in your life to make you realize you’ve allowed yourself to become too busy. Renew your commitment today to put Christ first in all things.