Cemetery, Rebound, and Issues

Today I went to the cemetery…to contemplate life. For me, it’s the most vivid reminder of how meaningful or insignificant our short lives can be. Assuming we will actually die before Jesus returns, all of us will be discarding this decaying shell into a coffin buried underground, or we will get cremated and bits of us in ash-formation will be flung into the air.

Let’s say that, on average, most of us will live to be eighty years old. For those of you in my peer group—our life is already 25% over! We were discussing the word “design” in Sunday School this morning, and how we are designed *by* God and *for* God. We are totally equipped to carry out His tasks. We can use our hands to help the oppressed and the struggling, or we can use them to click buttons across a screen. We can use our words to encourage and strengthen the body of believers, or we can hack them down with gossip or ill-fitting remarks. We can use our resources (monetary and/or material) to share with those who actually require items of which we have excess, or we can squander our wealth and play the “Who Has the Biggest/Newest/Better Version” game. We can use our time to shovel ourselves deeper into the truths of Scripture, or we can sit idly and pass the hours in front of a screen.

(I will point out that, currently, my two biggest challenges are in the areas of encouraging others and spending my own time wisely…thus I tend to write more vengefully against these issues!)

So what has this looked like in my life, since I’m constantly importuning you with this message? Currently it has me involved in three volunteer ministries. It has me up anywhere from 5-6:30am to spend a decent amount of time reading and praying before going to classes. It has me downsizing possessions and trying to figure out where to deliver them. It has me looking for ways to be useful, despite the times where I don’t want to be useful. It has me restraining words and refraining from speech, in instances where my tongue should be held.

It has me always on the rebound, coming back to God and admitting He’s right and I wasn’t.

I guess all this to say: What are the areas in your life that you haven’t wanted to give to God? And why is that?

“Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have been false to Me, and have neither remembered Me nor pondered this in your hearts?” – Isaiah 57:11a

I’ve been learning lately that I can’t pretend my issues away. Dealing with them is always better. Some people think they can ignore God their whole life, but when they die and re-open their eyes, they’re gonna have to deal with Him.