What Am I Doing?

I went to be at midnight, it's now 5:30 am and I am sitting in Starbucks on my day-off, what am I doing? Well, I am doing the only part of life that feels like ministry to me anymore; I am mentoring. I do this at least three days a week and I sure do hope it's making a difference in the lives of the men I meet. I know it makes a difference in mine. For nearly ten years I got up at 6am and wrote a daily devotion; thousands of essays written upon the Word of God. I don't know how they benefitted no one else, but they certainly built m faith and the absence of this discipline has weakened my faith (faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God). Life has been crowding out all but what is the most vital to my own existence as of late.

This is a strange time in which we live; an age of shattered relationships, non-commitment and individual asphyxiation; isolating ourselves to the point of suffocating the life out of our very beings. We live much of our lives based upon felt-needs, perceived “needs”; where we work, where we worship, how we live; many of us live to be entertained – What any I going to do today to have fun” we ask, rather than what ought we do today to prepare for tomorrow. We have become an id driven society of relaxation and rest rather than one of hard work and commerce. This explains the flippant way we discard relationships both inside and outside of the church. Our relationships as well as our worship experiences, as well as the rest of our lives are based upon “what will please me today?” rather than what do I need or what commitment have I made?

What we miss, in chasing our perceived needs, we neglect our real needs. In chasing after what we desire to do, we neglect the productive, life-giving things that we need to do. We recognize our innate need for community and relationship, but such endeavors require hard work and commitment and most of us with our pleasure mentality find it easier to continually shop around for the greener grass of every aspect of life rather than relax in the meadow where God has placed us. Jesus said, “HE WHO TRIES TO FIND HIS LIFE WILL LOSE IT, WHILE THOSE WHO ARE WILLING TO LOSE THEIR LIVES FOR MY SAKE WILL FIND IT.” The work of our salvation was finished on Calvary; the cost for our salvation was paid in Gethsemane, for it was there that Jesus made the hard commitment to do His Father’s will.

Ill you commit to doing the hard work of community and relationship or will you continue to look for the greener pastures which do not exist?