The conversation had been going around the room for about an hour with a group of 20 somethings. We had been discussing life, faith, friends and God. If I were to rank this night, it was almost a 10. We were almost done for the night but there was more question I wanted them to think about:
"What kind of legacy do you want to leave?" I was convinced this question would end the night with a bang. This is a group of very smart, passionate 20 somethings, and they will love the question. I was so wrong! Many of them had this blank look on their faces.
What emerged was that they really don't think about that question. They are more concerned with living in the moment, the now. As the facilitator of this group I began to have this panic moment (inside of course, can't let them see that). I had to pull another question out of the air, we had to end well.
It hit me. (Thank-you Jesus)
"Okay, how about this: If I took each of you and paired you up with a teenager, could you tell that student to follow your life?" The question was followed by good silence. Talk about looking in the mirror of your life. I wanted them to really wrestle with how they were living life, and this question got them thinking and talking again.
I don't know how you live life. I don't know who you follow. But I want to ask you this one thing: Are you living your life in a way that you could invite someone to follow your example?
If I were to take someone and pair them up with you, could you look at that person and say, "follow me, I will show you how to live life the way God intended us to live"?
Maybe we need to stop thinking about a legacy and start living in a way that others could follow. I don't know about you, but every once in a while I need to look in the mirror and see how I am living life.
Just Sayin!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Camp Fire
I don't know about you, but I love a camp fire setting. There is something about sitting around a fire with friends that is just so peaceful. The smell of the wood, the flames jumping into the air... it's such a great moment.
Last week, my wife and I were invited to a friends house for a campfire. The evening was filled with great laughs, stories, and big questions.
One of the guys in the group, whom I had just met, turned to me at about 12am and said, "So, you are a man of God... tell me what the key to life is". Something you should know about me is that I don't focus well after 10pm (I have been given the label "party pooper" by many). At this moment, I am looking around the campfire to see who he is talking to. Man of God? Somebody else must have just showed up.
WOW! What a question for any time of the day. What is the key to life?
I dogged the question by asking a question about himself, but he was on to me. He picked up that I was trying to buy time to think about a response.
I looked at him and I said...
"The key to life is to figure out how to love God with everything you have and to love others!"
I don't know what you think the key to life is, and I don't know how you would have answered that question, but I believe with everything in my being that life is about seeking God and loving him with all that I have. One day, Jesus told some people that we are to love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength. The way I see it, that covers every area of life.
You can pursue a lot of things in life, like happiness, money, stuff, popularity, education, family... and there is nothing wrong with those things. That is, unless they get in the way of loving God with your whole life.
When you think about the key to life, I hope you will give consideration to loving God with your whole life.
When we live this way, we begin to discover the key to life.
Just Sayin!
Last week, my wife and I were invited to a friends house for a campfire. The evening was filled with great laughs, stories, and big questions.
One of the guys in the group, whom I had just met, turned to me at about 12am and said, "So, you are a man of God... tell me what the key to life is". Something you should know about me is that I don't focus well after 10pm (I have been given the label "party pooper" by many). At this moment, I am looking around the campfire to see who he is talking to. Man of God? Somebody else must have just showed up.
WOW! What a question for any time of the day. What is the key to life?
I dogged the question by asking a question about himself, but he was on to me. He picked up that I was trying to buy time to think about a response.
I looked at him and I said...
"The key to life is to figure out how to love God with everything you have and to love others!"
I don't know what you think the key to life is, and I don't know how you would have answered that question, but I believe with everything in my being that life is about seeking God and loving him with all that I have. One day, Jesus told some people that we are to love God with our heart, soul, mind and strength. The way I see it, that covers every area of life.
You can pursue a lot of things in life, like happiness, money, stuff, popularity, education, family... and there is nothing wrong with those things. That is, unless they get in the way of loving God with your whole life.
When you think about the key to life, I hope you will give consideration to loving God with your whole life.
When we live this way, we begin to discover the key to life.
Just Sayin!
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Status
What is your status?
There used to be a very simple answer to that question: married or single. Today, status can mean all kinds of things, especially since Facebook has become so popular. We post our status for all to see and comment on. Your "friends" can even reply to your status to let you know what they think.
I was talking to someone the other day and he told me that he was on "permanent disability". He talked so matter-of-fact about it. I asked him, "is this what you believe about yourself?" He told me that this is what his status is, that the doctor put that on his file. As I sat there wondering about his status, I began to wonder if maybe he had just bought into it, and that that is all he could become, "permanently disabled".
In our culture we love to label things, we love to place a status on someone. What I see happening is that when we do this to ourselves and others we end up living up to that status. We end up putting limitations on ourselves because of "status".
The way I look at it - the status that matters the most is the status given to someone by God. See, when we become part of God's family, we get a new status.
The status is:
Forgiven
Loved
Cherished
New creation
I don't know about you, but I think I would prefer to live up to these labels. Especially the "new creation" one, man, I need that!!!
If you are looking at your life and you are living up to some other status, let me encourage you to consider these new ones. It might just be the status that helps move you forward in life.
Just sayin
There used to be a very simple answer to that question: married or single. Today, status can mean all kinds of things, especially since Facebook has become so popular. We post our status for all to see and comment on. Your "friends" can even reply to your status to let you know what they think.
I was talking to someone the other day and he told me that he was on "permanent disability". He talked so matter-of-fact about it. I asked him, "is this what you believe about yourself?" He told me that this is what his status is, that the doctor put that on his file. As I sat there wondering about his status, I began to wonder if maybe he had just bought into it, and that that is all he could become, "permanently disabled".
In our culture we love to label things, we love to place a status on someone. What I see happening is that when we do this to ourselves and others we end up living up to that status. We end up putting limitations on ourselves because of "status".
The way I look at it - the status that matters the most is the status given to someone by God. See, when we become part of God's family, we get a new status.
The status is:
Forgiven
Loved
Cherished
New creation
I don't know about you, but I think I would prefer to live up to these labels. Especially the "new creation" one, man, I need that!!!
If you are looking at your life and you are living up to some other status, let me encourage you to consider these new ones. It might just be the status that helps move you forward in life.
Just sayin
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