Am I Really Wasting My Life?

Our discipleship group at church is studying the book Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper. It's a book that I commend to everyone. In it, Piper systematically explains his view of a life well-lived in God's eyes. He speaks of fulfillment--not our own, but God's. He outlines purpose--not our own purpose, but God's desire for our lives.

We are in the midst of a powerful chapter, titled Living to Prove He Is More Precious Than Life. This chapter really drills down to the misconceptions about a good life and Piper is quite frank about topics like money, sacrifice, avoidance, and the great neutralizer, television. It is a convicting chapter in a powerfully challenging book.

In the chapter, Piper talks of the "weightlessness of God" and attributes the term to David Wells. In his book God In the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams, Wells says, "Those who assure the pollsters of their belief in God's existence may nonetheless consider him less interesting than television, his commands less authoritative than their appetites for affluence and influence, his judgement no more awe-inspiring than the evening news, and his truth less compelling than the advertisers' sweet fog of flattery and lies...Weightlessness tells us nothing about God but everything about ourselves, about our condition, about our psychological disposition to exclude God from our reality."

This startling and true reality makes me examine my own ways of minimalizing God. It makes me ask, "How am I honoring Him in my life?" Piper speaks in detail about how just living a good life, spending time with the wife and kids, and not getting into big trouble is wasting a life. When I was dead in sin, I thought that was enough. In fact, it was the example of the good husband and Dad. But as I understand more about God's desires for me, it doesn't seem satisfying at all.

What must we do to live a life well lived in God's eyes? How do we avoid a wasted life? I honestly don't know. But I wait (sometimes patiently) for God to offer me the answers.

A Return to Home for the First Time

My sister, Mae, got married this weekend. It was a wonderful, joyous occasion and it all happened in our hometown of Raymond, Miss. Sadly, I don't get back to Raymond much despite the fact that it's only about 30 minutes away. But in returning home to participate in this celebration, I got to experience one of my places of home again for the first time.

From about the time I was nine or ten, we worshipped at the Raymond United Methodist Church downtown. I was drawn by the kids programs and the Sunday School and my family soon followed. We worshipped there consistently until I went away to college. It was a church filled with Godly people delivering the Gospel from the pulpit, pews, classrooms, and choir loft. I spent many a Sunday in the choir singing about the Grace of God and His unending love.

The only problem was I wasn't hearing it. Through my own sinful nature and my understanding of the world around me, I grew up with the belief that if I was good and faithful, God would love me enough to preserve my soul forever. I can remember many moments of anxiety walking into that sanctuary and thinking, "After what I did last night, how can I show my face in God's house this morning?" or "How can I be sitting at the front of this church when God knows what I'm thinking in my heart?"

It took me a long time to realize that I didn't understand the Gospel at all. I had it backward. I was a grown man with kids of my own before I realized that God loves me where I am and as I am. His Grace allows me to grow in faith and become the best that I can be. I had one thing right in my youth, I would never be good enough to earn salvation. Thankfully, my salvation isn't mine to earn. It was a gift given to me 2000 years before I was born.

So that brings me to Saturday. When Mae decided to get married at Raymond United Methodist Church, I was excited to see my old "stomping grounds" but I had no idea how I would be impacted by being in that place. As we sat at rehearsal Friday night and during the service on Saturday, I thought back to those moments of doubt and thanked God for my journey. It was so pleasing to return home as a man in love with God and living in His embrace. It was so good to be asking the God of Love and Grace to bless the marriage of my little sister and her husband. It was such a powerful experience to be worshipping in such a familiar place and, for the first time, doing it with the knowledge that Jesus is my Savior and the architect of my salvation.

It was so good to go home, even for a few precious hours.

Mississippi State Fair 2010

The Mississippi State Fair has come and gone. It looks to be a record-breaking year with very little rain and BIG crowds. (Of course, the only day it rained was the day we chose to go.)

The highlight of the year had to be the gruesome discovery of the Krispy Kreme Burger. If you've never seen it, it's quite possibly the most unhealthy burger in history.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/03/broadcasts/main1680067.shtml