This is a diagram of my life.
It began in 1973 and it will never end. A speck of my life will be lived before I die. And an eternity will be lived after that day. Do we believe that?
On your first day on the other side of the grave, do you think you’ll look back on this life and be flooded with gratitude for hours spent watching episodes of American Idol and Lost? Will you wish you’d done more of that? Do you think you’ll look back fondly on the effort and money spent remodeling the kitchen? Will you wish you’d had a nicer home? Do you think you’ll be glad you were up-to-date on the juicy details of celebrity lives? Will you wish you’d read more magazines? Will you regret not spending more time at the office? Will you wish you’d logged just a few more hours every week at work? Will you miss your blog or Facebook? WIll you wish you’d just had a couple hundred more readers, just a few more “friends?”
Me neither.
We’re in the red speck. Right. Now.
I’m asking myself: How much of what I’m doing today will really matter when the speck is over?
.
I really like playing “I Spy” with all my boys. This is an on-going game that we play, when we are usually waiting for our food at a restaurant. (Yes, a stall tactic to avoid melt-downs.) We even have the books at home-you know the one’s-that you have to find all the key objects in a busy illustrated page.
I think, like “I Spy”, that God lays out all the truths to us (key objects), and we go through life in the hopes of finding them (because you know that they are all here). We can only carry these in the pocket of our soul to Eternity.
I know for me the challenge is that I can easily be distracted on a busy page.
This is a great reminder to me. Thanks.
Thanks for this. I am linking to you in the mawnin’
Mary
This a good reality check, thanks it hit home.
Love the diagram. Thanks for the reminder that our life here is ‘but a breath.’
On your first day on the other side of the grave, do you think you’ll look back on this life and be flooded with gratitude for hours spent watching episodes of American Idol and Lost? Will you wish you’d done more of that? No.
Do you think you’ll look back fondly on the effort and money spent remodeling the kitchen? Yes. I do these things for my wife and my family and the joy that it brings her.
Will you wish you’d had a nicer home? No.
Do you think you’ll be glad you were up-to-date on the juicy details of celebrity lives? No.
Will you wish you’d read more magazines? Probably not.
Will you regret not spending more time at the office? Will you wish you’d logged just a few more hours every week at work? Maybe, if I skipped out early and cheated on my committment.
Will you miss your blog or Facebook? No
WIll you wish you’d just had a couple hundred more readers, No
Just a few more “friends?” Maybe. If I witnessed to them and they became followers and friends.
You know what? I am smart enough to know that the answer to all the questions you posed above is No…I know that without any doubt or hesitation.
The hard part? Living in that reality. I know what Kingdom living is all about and what really matters. But MY GOODNESS it’s difficult to live in that place consistently! The world tugs on us so hard…our will tugs on us so hard. But Jesus? He’s never demanding and doesn’t shout over top of the things that distract us. I really wish he would sometimes.
Thanks for the reminder Shaun.
This is a regifting of 3.25.09 isn’t it?
Anyway, it all matters and what may seem like humongous squanderations of time is really all part of a very intricate tapestry God is weaving. I am not suggesting that if the thread that represents a person were abruptly yanked-out the entire textile would unravel (that would be haughty), but rather the strand that we are is a cord east to west and it is likely a good thing that it isn’t all scarlet.
(Likely the vaguest sentence I ever wrote and yes, squanderations is not a word)
Answering ‘No’ to everything on the list you’ve made seems simplistic.
In example:
When I follow a TV series with my wife, it is time well spent with her, as I am taking the time to do something with her that she looks forward to. We share the same experience together. It has value.
Also, when I watch television, I can be impressed with God in the sense that I recognize that He is the giver of talent for acting, for music. He’s the origin of creativity and imagination. He’s the origin of intelligence for technology.
I use Facebook to keep in regular contact with my many relatives. Most of them are thousands of miles away from me. This is immensely valuable to me. It is amazing that a Christian can let his light shine in a very real way via the internet…
blogging even…
This is why I love your blog. Thanks for the perspective.
The older I get (and I’m gettin’ up there), the clearer it becomes how bent I am on pursuing things that make me happy. Or, shall I say, things that I think will make me happy. Taking myself out of the equation is, at times, the last thing I want to do.
But when I do, wow, I think that feeling must be what it’s like when we step on heaven’s shore…totally free of self consciousness, just bein’ who we are made to be, and letting the love of Jesus eminate from our being. I think it’s possible that could happen as I sit next to my husband and watch CSI Miami or LOST.
Thou dost protest too much.
And needlessly, since I never said any of the things in the list were wrong/bad. Never. This post is about perspective, not legalism.