I don’t want to be too busy to miss this.
Or worse, I don’t want to be too cynical.
The national tragedy that occurred in Tucson in last week’s mass shooting is an occasion for pause, for review, even for inspiration. Who can watch a child-sized coffin being wheeled to a hearse and not stop, not grieve, and then not hope for something different and better.
The death of Christina Green, 9, born on 9/11 has the potential to inspire many to live for greater ideals. I was ten years-old when JFK was assassinated, and I will never forget the prayer and resolution I made, alone in my bedroom. I asked God to make my life count for something. In the face of tragedy, I knew that my life should matter, that it was a gift, a treasure to be spent wisely.
This Sunday at the Gathering Church I will be teaching what are the last words of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, 28:18-20. It’s often called The Great Commission because it is the last instruction Jesus gave to his disciples. Also, its scope is remarkable. Read it and note every use of ‘all’, sometimes translated ‘everything’ or ‘always’).
The passage identifies the greatest outcome that any life can achieve. Unfortunately, that outcome is one of the best kept secrets in all of Christianity. If you have grown up in church, you probably think that the greatest outcome is to go to heaven, which indeed, is a great outcome, but is perhaps one of the most self-serving distortions in the Christian faith.
This month as we learn about our Calling we will not settle for anything less than what Jesus taught. In our most inspired moments may we aspire to the life that only Jesus can make happen.