What do I want to HAVE done when it’s time for me to BE done?
That’s the question I texted myself as I left the hospital yesterday. Spending a portion of the last 3 days in ICU with my dad has provided ample opportunity to ponder purpose. Everyday as I walk the halls & see people in critical care, an urgency develops & a prayer quickly follows,
“Oh, Lord, BE Lord over my mind, will & emotions. I want the 2nd half of my life to double Kingdom impact made by the 1st! When it’s time for me to BE done this side of heaven, what is it You’d like to HAVE done through my life?
As we prepared for bed last night, I had a chance to connect with my sister who is a missionary in Estonia. She & her husband left what seemed like custom-made jobs to follow the Lord’s lead to the mission field. As she shared details of their journey, one (gisted) thing she said lit up like a lighthouse: “I don’t ever want money to be my motivation.”
My insides leapt with a resounding, “YES!” As i crawled into bed, I remembered that my other sister’s husband sent me a link to an assessment called, “The Motivation Code.” I took a peek at it & fell asleep wondering what motivates me.
As I look back on life, many of my decisions were based on the financial security they’d provide. But to be honest, if I’m looking for riches to be my motivator & source of peace, I will always be sorely mistaken.
When I opened my Bible to Proverbs 11:4, I think my breath escaped my lungs:
Riches won’t help on the day of judgment, but right living can save you from death.
”Right living” means to live with a just cause. While I live life, what gives cause for my decisions? Is it to seek fake security? Maybe it’s to please others? Maybe it’s to please myself?
Oh, that the cause for ALL decisions would be to follow the One Who saved us from eternal death! When Jesus is Lord not just over our Sunday mornings, but in our living & breathing & walking & talking, we experience a kind of life that becomes a glimpse of heaven!
Father, show us what You’d like to HAVE done when it’s time for us to BE done! Give us an eternal perspective so we might not miss a life that is glimpse-worthy of our future home in heaven! #OneYearBible
NUMBERS 14:1-15:16
MARK 14:53-72
PSALM 53:1-6
PROVERBS 11:4
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