Good Thursday morning! Here it is; I can ignore it no longer. December 4th on the calendar, and a new life in my heart. Many of you will be wondering at that. December 4th? Eh? No it isn't my birthday, that comes along some months from now. No, there will be nothing on your calendar; I don't think anyone has a holiday on this day. However, whatever may come later, ten years ago today my life changed forever. Most days or dates in your life are soon forgotten; one day is much like another for much of our lives. Some days stand out in our minds throughout our lives. A wedding day, the birth of a child, news of a loved one going home to Jesus, 9/11, 12/7, and other events stand out as special days. Most folks of a certain age remember the news of Kennedy's assassination or the first moon landing and can tell us the date of those events. An athlete could tell us the date he or she won a medal and a performer could tell us what date an award was received.
Jesus tells us that upon his return, which will be in an instant, everything will change, but no one will know the date. Each of us has examples of dates like that throughout our lives. We didn't know the date would be significant until the event occurred. My most recent event is of course, 10/7, a day which will live in my roll call of infamous days for some time to come. What is important about these dates is not so much what happened, but how we responded and what grew from that response. On 12/4/1998, I remember the word I used to describe my first impression of the event that happened that day. I won't repeat the word here as my use of the language has improved greatly since that day. What happened that sears the moment in time in my memory? Yes, an auto accident happened, but many more important things happened as a result of that. People - loved ones, acquaintances, coworkers, friends, professionals, volunteers, and even complete strangers, rushed to my aid. For someone accustomed to being strong, to taking care of myself, this was almost as traumatic as the event itself. The world trains us to be self-reliant and then Jesus in his mercy shows us that we are not, as the world says, on our own.
What grew from this dreadful event? A great love of Jesus sprang forth in my heart. To me this was like a seed that had been planted when I was young, but didn't burst into full bloom until a traumatic event cracked the shell of that seed. I had been raised in the love of Jesus; we attended Sunday worship service, Sunday school, evening services, and even mid-week services at our church. I knew intellectually everything I needed to be a dynamic follower of Christ, but did not put it into practice during my late teens and twenties. Like many in the world, I had become a believer in my own strength, ability, talents, and intellect. Many people will never realize the limits of their own strength. The wisdom of the world would have us believe that some gene can be turned off and, presto, we become immortal. Explorers never found the fabled fountain of youth in the New World, so the new explorers have turned to our DNA to look for it. As you can see in Pastor Rogers' devotional this morning, Jesus simply tells us to finish the course in this life, to walk the path He has prepared for us.
Speaking of new paths in life, what will grow from my own significant dates, especially this most recent one? What will grow from your significant dates? The Gardener approaches to prune the beautiful plant that is each of our lives; the Good Shepherd comes to tend to his beloved sheep. Let Him in His great wisdom make something beautiful out of your life and my life, to the glory of God the Father!
Bucky
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