What Role Does God Play?
Posted on January 12, 2006
Filed Under Timely Issues | Leave a Comment
In my previous post, Resolving To Be Desperate, I ended with the following statement and question.
“Maybe it would help to consider the importance of this year from the perspective of the end. What change will you regret most if you don’t make it 12 months from now? … Would you be more motivated if you knew that you only had 12 months to live? What role would God play in it if that were the case?”
One of the comments I received asked me to answer the question about what role God would play for myself. Of course I realized immediately that it is easier to ask questions than it is to answer them, but let me try.
If I had a full 12 months to live however I chose and knew that on December 31, 2006, without any pain or disease, my time would be up, what role would God play in my life that year?
First of all I would ask God for his help and direction. I am convinced that he not only exists, but is involved in our lives so I would ask him how I should live and then listen and look for answers and direction. If the Bible is essentially his communication with us then I can have confidence when I read in it that he rewards those who seek him and that he will answer me when I ask.
Second, I would get my focus off of the day to day issues and concentrate on the big picture and eternity. If there is some kind of existence after this life then knowing I would be experiencing it soon would make me want learn more about what it will be like. I would also want to know how my days on earth do or don’t affect that aspect of life. Jesus Christ spoke a lot about eternity and heaven. That would seem to be a good place to start.
Third, I would engage in less small talk and cultivate more significant conversations. I get tired of “Hi, how are you doing?” The shortness of my time and sense of urgency would help me to let my guard down and listen more carefully. Maybe conversations would go something like this, “Hi, how are you?” “Great, I have 245 days to live, how about you?”
Fourth, I would be less hurried and more intentional. I would stop trying to accomplish as much as possible and spend my time on that which is most important (which takes me back to the first thing I mentioned).
What role would God play if I had only 12 months to live? It would be all about God. An ancient Hebrew writer, in a prayer to God summarized the situation pretty well when he wrote, “So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.” I think I will give it a try, thanks for asking.
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