Originally published Saturday, 29 June 2013.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF_x8dsvb_4
I know sometimes I post a link and you don’t watch it.
You hope to read what I post after it and understand the message that the clip conveyed.
But do me a favor- stop – and watch this clip. I believe it’s important for you to SEE it today.
Francis Chan is known for doing unique and creative illustrations with his messages. This rope illustration is one of my favorites.
You better have watched the clip…
Anyway, I mention this clip because I think it is a crucial reminder that we should probably watch everyday.
Think about it: How much of your mental energy, time and efforts are focused on that itty bitty, teeny tiny red part?
It makes your priorities seem a little off and your worries a little silly, doesn’t it?
I would venture to say that every human has that time when they really wonder whether they are wasting their life.
Are they making a difference?
Are they using their gifts for the right purpose?
Are they doing ENOUGH?
I know I think about this often. Actually, it is probably my greatest fear that there is a chance I could waste my life on things that don’t matter.
I am not saying that we all need to move out of our homes, find a box and only preach the Gospel on the side of the road for the red part of our lives to count.
The times we focus on things that don’t matter? We eventually realize how unimportant they are.
They are still lessons and part of our story, and by no means am I saying that they are a waste of life.
I am simply saying that I really, really, really hope that we do not realize how small the red part is when we turn 60.
That maybe, if we gained an eternal perspective on the red part now, we would rest in the good news of the Gospel and stop staying up at night worrying about the bad news on television.
That maybe, if we tried to grasp the length of the rope representing eternity, we would actually see how INSANE it is to treasure the time on Earth now.
I believe God stretches us here and continually pulls us out of our comfort zone because it is then that we see the value of not making here too “homey”.
I repeat: Material things are not bad. Goals to accomplish things while we are here aren’t bad.
We are blessed so that we can be a blessing.
Those things are not bad; however, when the red part and its’ luxuries become our focus and consume us, THAT is dangerous.
I hope that by realizing how brief our life is here, we are encouraged to pull all our eggs in the white rope basket.
Make that our focus.
Be a little more generous since we take nothing when we leave anyway.
Serve with our time instead of seek to be served.
Worry a little less and laugh a little more.
And most of all, seek to please the one who gave us the rope to begin with and died so that the red part would not be the only part we see.
No, it gets WAY better.
Praying you are reminded of your focus and that your priorities and actions reflect an eternal perspective!
“How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog–it’s here a little while, then it’s gone.” -James 4:14
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