One of the things that is great about getting older is perspective. One of the most valuable lessons perspective teaches is that when life feels like it’s NOT working, it is. And when it feels like life IS working, that’s when you need to watch out.
When life isn’t working, everything seems so hard. Our work, our relationships, our health, our finances, our mood, our future, our past – we see the struggle, the questions, the uncertainty, and we feel any combination of worry, fear, guilt, or nausea. But, do you know what’s great about these moments? Eventually – and it can be a long road to this realization - you realize how completely you need God. You realize how completely empty and weak and unsure you are. You feel a little foolish, because you assumed you knew, but you didn’t. And when you accept this, you can really start living, because you are truly taking up your cross.
When life is working, everything seems okay. Our work, our relationships, our health, our finances, our mood, our future, our past, our future – we might compare ourselves and feel pretty good about things, or maybe we’ve got enough going on that we feel like we’re really living life. The problem is, this can lead us to a place where we eventually realize we’ve been in a malaise, and while everything is “okay” – things seem empty and like there’s no direction or purpose. And the emptiness is because we are not anchored to anything true and deep and lasting. Just like when life isn’t working, the answer is taking up the cross and being anchored in it.
The truth is, there is no such thing as life “working” or “not working.” There’s just life. And life is everything.
The good, the bad, the happy, the sad, the rich, the poor, the healthy, the sick, the worried, the thankful, the scared, the courageous, the lucky, the desperate, the non-believer and the believer.
We are all of these things through the course of our lives.
What gives life purpose and direction and joy is Christ and our sharing in His life. We do that through the cross. Perspective teaches us that in the end, all that really matters, is the cross and our clinging to it like crazy.
When life isn’t working, everything seems so hard. Our work, our relationships, our health, our finances, our mood, our future, our past – we see the struggle, the questions, the uncertainty, and we feel any combination of worry, fear, guilt, or nausea. But, do you know what’s great about these moments? Eventually – and it can be a long road to this realization - you realize how completely you need God. You realize how completely empty and weak and unsure you are. You feel a little foolish, because you assumed you knew, but you didn’t. And when you accept this, you can really start living, because you are truly taking up your cross.
When life is working, everything seems okay. Our work, our relationships, our health, our finances, our mood, our future, our past, our future – we might compare ourselves and feel pretty good about things, or maybe we’ve got enough going on that we feel like we’re really living life. The problem is, this can lead us to a place where we eventually realize we’ve been in a malaise, and while everything is “okay” – things seem empty and like there’s no direction or purpose. And the emptiness is because we are not anchored to anything true and deep and lasting. Just like when life isn’t working, the answer is taking up the cross and being anchored in it.
The truth is, there is no such thing as life “working” or “not working.” There’s just life. And life is everything.
The good, the bad, the happy, the sad, the rich, the poor, the healthy, the sick, the worried, the thankful, the scared, the courageous, the lucky, the desperate, the non-believer and the believer.
We are all of these things through the course of our lives.
What gives life purpose and direction and joy is Christ and our sharing in His life. We do that through the cross. Perspective teaches us that in the end, all that really matters, is the cross and our clinging to it like crazy.