The
rounds today show how events such as funerals and birthdays are ‘life alarms’.
Contrary to what some may have deduced from the Monday post, fellowship is not
restricted to our ‘church people’. Relationships include everyday people,
parents, spouses, children, siblings, colleagues, neighbours-
all the beautiful people in our lives that routine and daily familiarity make
us forget.
Sometimes,
sudden deaths give us the jolt we need to
take a breather and take present relationships more seriously. James
instructs us to exhort ourselves while it is called today.
Matt Kaufmant says:
I wasn't a child when my dad died, but I was 19. A couple
hours earlier, he drove me to a college class. I got a ride home and found he'd
collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage. He never woke up. There was no warning:
At age 58, he was gone…
When you're young, you don't really think that something like this
might happen to your parents for a long time. You know it's possible, but it
seems so remote. You have plenty of time.
Except maybe you don't.
Come
now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and
spend a year there and trade and make a profit — yet you do not know what
tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a
little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord
wills, we will live and do this or that." (James 4:13-15)
Trevin Wax turned 32 and he has this to
say:
June
is birthday month for our family. Timothy turns 9 tomorrow. Julia turned 5
eleven days ago. And we’re expecting a new arrival any time now (our son,
David), which means next year won’t be any less busy.
There
are two times a year when the calendar tells you to stop and take a good look
at your life, to think about where you are and where you are going: New Year’s
and your birthday. The annual rhythm is a reminder to number your days (Psalm
90), to enjoy the moments you have with those you love, and to give yourself to
the mission and work God has called you to…
I am so thankful for Corina and the kids, the people I
worship with at church, the people I serve with in all the different activities
I get to be involved in, and the people I work with every day on The Gospel
Project…
I shouldn’t have to wait until my birthday to do that.
Neither should you. So, do it today.
Jeff Nickels reminded me
of how often our intended priorities (Jesus, Family, Fellowship) and reality
priorities (Television, Career, other stuff…) often clash:
In his book Start,
Jon Acuff calls what we value most in life our diamonds. They are the gems we hold most
precious. Our diamonds are the things we spend the most time thinking about and
engaging with.
If I were asked
(outside of church) what I value most, I’d probably say my diamonds are my
marriage, my children and my health.
These are pretty
noble answers. Hardly anyone is going to criticize me for replying in
this way.
However, I’ve
realized that I’ve been more than a little off base.
Some Things that We Mistakenly Over-Value
When I objectively
assess my life, some inconsistencies come to light.
Honestly, I spend
the majority of my time on things other than my marriage, children and health…
When
I objectively assess my life, some inconsistencies come to light.
So, where have I
gone wrong?
The authors of the
book Sway, teach that we are often easily misled in how we assign
value.
Our culture, the
media and even our peers have more influence on us that we like to think.
Therefore, we
easily get swayed into assigning lots of value to things like:
·
Comfort
·
Material Possessions
·
Job Performance
·
Social Status
·
Sports & Hobbies
·
Titles
·
Appearances
·
Sex
·
Money
Sometimes subtly,
these become the diamonds in our lives without us even noticing and while there
is nothing inherently wrong with any of these, when we over-value them, they
become idols.
In other news, Tim Challies has
this to say about self-delusion. My pastor used the term ‘delusion of grandeur
once and I have loved that phrase! Here goes Challies:
But
he hasn’t got anything on!” This is the cry of the child at the end of Hans
Christian Anderson’s little tale The Emperor’s New Clothes.
The vain emperor believed he was wearing the finest garments ever created,
garments woven of the finest silk and the purest gold thread. He believed he
was wearing clothing so beautiful that only the best and brightest in the land
could see it...
The
emperor had been bamboozled, but he would not admit his ignorance, he could not
admit it, and instead forced himself to believe he was wearing clothes; his
noblemen did the same, for to state the plain truth would be to admit
unworthiness.
The Emperor shivered, for he suspected they were right. But
he thought, “This procession has got to go on.” So he walked more proudly than
ever, as his noblemen held high the train that wasn’t there at all.
There
you have stuff I have been reading this week. Hope they bless you as they did
me!
What
have you read online recently that you think you should share?
Miss
August.
PS: I do not endorse or claim to know
all the theological, doctrinal and spiritual values of the posts and authors
referred to. I have only presented clips of stuff I found to be edifying. Be a Berean,
check and recheck.
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