18 One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers—Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew—throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. 19 Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” 20 And they left their nets at once and followed him.
21 A little farther up the shore he saw two other brothers, James and John, sitting in a boat with their father, Zebedee, repairing their nets. And he called them to come, too. 22 They immediately followed him, leaving the boat and their father behind.
Dear God, I’m in a hurry this morning, but I have to start my day this way before I go. I have to touch hands with you. Touch hearts with you. Touch minds with you. Touch my soul to you. I have to be reminded that your Holy Spirit is with me right now. I have to start from this perspective before I get going. So here I am. I’m here to stop for at least a few moments to acknowledge you are my God. You are everything.
And now, Father, send me into this world. Following my prayer yesterday, make me a fisher of men. Help me to offer them Jesus. And it’s the Jesus that’s not the lesser of two evils, but the Jesus who loves me and offers me life. If I lose my life for him, I will gain it. If my neighbor loses their life for you, they will gain it (Matthew 10:39). Help me to take that message with me as I go through this day. And cover my wife and me, please, angels of the Lord.
Dear God, I was listened to the Holy Post Podcast yesterday that interviewed a friend of Tony Campolo’s, Shane Claiborne. They were discussing Tony’s recent passing, and there were several good parts of it. I expect to listen to it again, but as I sat down this morning and thought about it, I think this is my favorite part. Claiborne mentioned this as one of Tony’s core messages when he would speak to groups, and it is something I trace back in my own life to when I used to say the same things to kids at camp when I was a counselor 35 years ago.
I remember a couple of years later when I was sharing that philosophy (theology?) with a Christian friend who was older than me, and he scolded me for it. He pointed to Paul when he said in 1 Corinthians 15:19, “And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.” This caught me flat-footed and I remember not having much to say in return. That conversation was 32 years ago, and it’s amazing how much it still haunts me now.
If I were to have another shot at that conversation, I would want to point out the context of that verse:
12 But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? 13 For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. 15 And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. 16 And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.
20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.
In my opinion, and perhaps my friend would still have disagreed, for Paul, the idea of afterlife with you is part of the argument for Jesus’s resurrection. You can’t separate them. If no afterlife, no resurrection. If no resurrection, no afterlife. As I sit and think o this now, I just had a thought that takes what Paul taught one step further. If no afterlife, then no reason for us to even care about you. No reason for the incarnation in the first place. No reason, honestly for you to care about us any more than we care for our pets. Our lives would be so unbelievably insignificant in your presence as specks of dust that are here and gone (Psalm 103:14-15), then what would be the point. No, afterlife is truly the lynch pin to everything I believe in about you.
With that said, following Jesus and what he taught us is not about picking the lesser of two evils: It’s a pain to follow you, but it’s better than hell! It’s about the opportunity to follow you and live a victorious, sacrificial life here on earth that grows the fruit of your Holy Spirit within me regardless of what it physically costs me. It’s about the peace I get here. The love. The joy. The patience. The goodness. The kindness. The gentleness. The faithfulness. The self-control. Knowing you. Loving you. Serving you by serving others. That’s what it all is about. That’s what I’m offering others when I talk to them about you. It’s not a guillotine over their head and a threat that they better follow you or else. It’s an invitation into true life.
Father, I have got to be better about offering this life to others! I am sorry that I’m not. I’m sorry to you, but I’m sorry to them as well. Help me to really get this concept and compel me to live it out. Thank you that you taught it to me. Help me to teach it to others.
19 So the two of them continued on their journey. When they came to Bethlehem, the entire town was excited by their arrival. “Is it really Naomi?” the women asked.
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,” she responded. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy upon me?”
22 So Naomi returned from Moab, accompanied by her daughter-in-law Ruth, the young Moabite woman. They arrived in Bethlehem in late spring, at the beginning of the barley harvest.
Dear God, how easy it is for all of us to be like Naomi in verse 20 and see our lives as Mara (bitter)? We can be so selfish that we see only what we want that we do not have. We cannot see what you’ve done for us. So, in this case, Naomi sees only that she wants her husband and sons back. She wants her security back. She wants the life she had before their refugee trip to Moab back. She would do anything in that moment to have it all back. That’s what she wants more than anything.
I’ve been there. I’m still often there. I can only see what I want that I don’t have. I had a good cry yesterday over things I lament. And I think that’s okay. I think it’s okay that Naomi was mourning here. It’s fair. She lost her husband and sons. She was scared. lament and mourning are legitimate things to do. It was one of the first things Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) So I’m not saying I shouldn’t be sad about the things that make me sad. But I am saying that I need to open my eyes to the amazing things you are doing for me–both that I can see and that I cannot see.
In Naomi’s case, you gave her Ruth. You brought her back at the time of the beginning of the barley harvest which would ultimately give Ruth the visibility to Boaz that you needed her to have. You were providing for her and setting up the lineage to Jesus at the time time:
Ruth & Boaz –> Obed –> Jesse –> David –> Jesus
And what have you given me? Well, even while I was typing this, I received a loving text from one of my closest friends, telling me how much our friendship means to him. I have tears in my eyes just typing this now. What a gift! Thank you. Of course, there is my wife, health, job, home, and all of the things I try to remember to thank you for regularly. Then there are the things you’re doing that I simply cannot see. But you’re there. You’re doing your thing. You’re loving a world that fails to love you. You are…beyond words.
Father, I thank you. Thank you for what you are doing. Thank you for what you are not doing that I want you to do but you know better. Thank you for your comfort. Thank you that it is okay to lament and mourn while I keep my eyes on you. Thank you, Father. Thank you for everything.
27 Then Jesus was approached by some Sadducees—religious leaders who say there is no resurrection from the dead. 28 They posed this question: “Teacher, Moses gave us a law that if a man dies, leaving a wife but no children, his brother should marry the widow and have a child who will carry on the brother’s name.[c]29 Well, suppose there were seven brothers. The oldest one married and then died without children. 30 So the second brother married the widow, but he also died. 31 Then the third brother married her. This continued with all seven of them, who died without children. 32 Finally, the woman also died. 33 So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her!”
34 Jesus replied, “Marriage is for people here on earth. 35 But in the age to come, those worthy of being raised from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. 36 And they will never die again. In this respect they will be like angels. They are children of God and children of the resurrection.
37 “But now, as to whether the dead will be raised—even Moses proved this when he wrote about the burning bush. Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, he referred to the Lord as ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 So he is the God of the living, not the dead, for they are all alive to him.”
39 “Well said, Teacher!” remarked some of the teachers of religious law who were standing there. 40 And then no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Luke 20:27-40
Dear God, I really love my wife. I mean, she is unbelievably important to me. I enjoy her. I like her. I cannot imagine life without her. After 35 years of knowing each other, we still spend huge amounts of time talking and sharing with each other. And it breaks my heart to know that the odds are that one of us will die before the other. So I am one of those who would want to know what our relationship will be like on the other side of our earthly existence. Will she be my wife in your kingdom? The idea that she won’t disappoints me a little. But then I read passages like the one I did a couple of days ago in Revelation 4, about the 24 elders worshipping you and I think, “Of course! Anything I know now won’t even be enough to pale in comparison to what I know then! She will be there, but our existence will be on a completely different level than I can comprehend.”
So that leads me to the trap of getting distracted by tomorrow. I start to get defensive about the things that I like about my life and try to protect them from ending instead of staying in the moment. What you have for me is completely different than what the world has for me. What you have for me in this moment might be compromised by my desire to preserve what I think I want in the next moment. I make decisions out of self-preservation all of the time. And sometimes, they might get in the way of what you want me to do.
I was watching a movie last night, and I watched characters take principled stands against injustice. It is possible that I might be asked to take a principled stand against injustice one day soon that will cost me. Am I willing to pay that price? Do I truly consider my life worth nothing to me (Act 20:24)?
Father, I don’t know where all of this is going or how it all works out. I don’t know when you might need me to stand up for others and sacrifice myself in the process. And I don’t know what that sacrifice looks like. But I know that you are so–and I mean SO–much more than I can imagine or my situations. You are SO much more than my earthly or even eternal life. You are God. I don’t need to be equal to you. I don’t have any standing to even ask anything of you, much less demand anything. I am grateful for what I have in this moment. I am sad about the things I want that I don’t have, but I will not let that sadness or disappointment keep me from recognizing you, worshipping you, and offering all that I am for all that you are.
I offer this feeble, humble prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
Blessed is he who will follow the Lord He will not stand in the path of the sinner He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer For the law of the Lord is his delight
In his law he meditates, day and night He will be like a tree planted by water He will yield his fruit in its season, his leaves won’t die In whatever he does, he will prosper
Blessed is he who will follow the Lord He will not stand in the path of the sinner He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer For the law of the Lord is his delight
For the lost, they are like chaff that the wind drives away They are not safe at any time their life could perish
Blessed is he who will follow the Lord He will not stand in the path of the sinner He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer For the law of the Lord is his delight
The Lord holds the plans, and the paths of all who follow him The righteous will stand secure and last forever
Blessed is he who will follow the Lord He will not stand in the path of the sinner He will not sit in the seat of the scoffer For the law of the Lord is his delight
Dear God, this is the second Kim Hill song I’ve thought of over the last couple of days, and there probably aren’t many people who remember her music enough to think of two songs by her in the span of three days. I guess I have a unique knowledge of 90s Christian music.
In this case, the verse of the day from Bible Gateway was Psalm 1:1-2. I pulled up the whole psalm and then this song came to mind since it’s literally called “Psalm 1.” Here is the NLT version of Psalm 1:
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
4 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. 5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. 6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.
I was talking several days ago as I prepared for my friend’s funeral about psalms of orientation, disorientation, and reorientation. I would put this psalm squarely in the realm of orientation. The world makes sense to the psalmist. Those who follow you are blessed. The wicked condemned. When I am disoriented, it seems like those who follow you are abandoned and the wicked thrive. And then when I am reoriented, I can see beyond the physical world and realize that you hold those who love you, whether we can see it or not.
As I look at the first stanza, the one line that hits me is that I will not “join in with mockers.” Oh, how that is so easy and tempting to do. I want to mock those who disagree with me. I want to roll my eyes at people I see as foolish. The frustrate me, and I want to join in with like-minded people and mock them. I want to scoff. I want to make the insecurities I have in my disagreements with them, and use scoffing and mocking to elevate myself over them. That’s my human, carnal solution to it. What should my solution be? I suppose I should be looking to you, examining my thoughts and my heart for and then laying them before you to see if they are your thoughts and your heart. Then, if there is disagreement between you and me, I need to repent. If there is agreement, I need to simply love those who disagree and perhaps develop enough relationship with them where I can speak into their lives.
Father, help me to live up to all of this. It is so much easier to say/type than it is to live. But I want to worship you. I want to represent you to the world. I want to love you well. You are my God, and I want the roots of my life to be deep into your presence. Help me to be that throughout this day.
5 As you enter the house of God, keep your ears open and your mouth shut. It is evil to make mindless offerings to God. 2 Don’t make rash promises, and don’t be hasty in bringing matters before God. After all, God is in heaven, and you are here on earth. So let your words be few.
3 Too much activity gives you restless dreams; too many words make you a fool.
4 When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. 5 It is better to say nothing than to make a promise and not keep it. 6 Don’t let your mouth make you sin. And don’t defend yourself by telling the Temple messenger that the promise you made was a mistake. That would make God angry, and he might wipe out everything you have achieved.
7 Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead.
8 Don’t be surprised if you see a poor person being oppressed by the powerful and if justice is being miscarried throughout the land. For every official is under orders from higher up, and matters of justice get lost in red tape and bureaucracy. 9 Even the king milks the land for his own profit!
10 Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! 11 The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!
12 People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.
13 There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver. 14 Money is put into risky investments that turn sour, and everything is lost. In the end, there is nothing left to pass on to one’s children. 15 We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us.
16 And this, too, is a very serious problem. People leave this world no better off than when they came. All their hard work is for nothing—like working for the wind. 17 Throughout their lives, they live under a cloud—frustrated, discouraged, and angry.
18 Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. 19 And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. 20 God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.
Ecclesiastes 5
Dear God, before I get into all of the money stuff from this passage, I want to go back to verse 7: 7 Talk is cheap, like daydreams and other useless activities. Fear God instead. There have certainly been times when I’ve been guilty of all talk and no action. And there have been other times when I’ve been all action and no prayer. In fact, the latter is probably my bigger sin. I do a lot of things through what I think is my own wisdom and strength. And sometimes you bless it and my ego thinks I did it and not you. But in these moments I’m reminded of who it really is doing it, and I am humbled and repentant. I am sorry. As I return to work today after a vacation, help me to be the man you need me to be today for my coworkers, for our constituents, and for our community. Give me wisdom. And with my new Parents of the Bible project, please guide me into something that will bring you glory and bless your Kingdom coming to earth and your will being done here and now.
Now, as for the accumulation of wealth and the perils therein, I will say that, as a fundraiser, I am grateful for those who have accumulated enough wealth to share with others. And there are some who have accumulated a lot and are willing to share it at a level that really funds most of our work. It’s the 80/20 rule where 80% of our money comes from 20% of the people, although ours is probably more like 80/10. And I am grateful for the wealth those people accumulated and not only for their willingness to share it with our work as we help people, but I know nearly all of them share generously with other causes as well.
But I should look at myself here as well. What are my motivations behind my savings? As we’ve spent money on redecorating our house lately, I confess that the giving that we have done has hurt a little more. I’ve stopped to wonder if I have enough to give, and that hasn’t happened in a long time. I’ve felt hesitation where I didn’t used to feel hesitation. But I also want to follow your Holy Spirit in any given moment. I want to share with others. I want to help.
Father, first, thank you. There is so, so much to thank you for. When my wife and I prayed together this morning, the first thing I found myself doing was thanking you. And I do. I acknowledge your goodness. I acknowledge your faithfulness. I am sorry I don’t always live up to deserving you, but you choose to love me anyway. Thank you. Second, help me to do what you are calling me to do today. Make me a person of action that first submits to you and your authority, and then looks to you to guide me. Love others through me. Love those I don’t even like through me. And guide me, please. Third, help me to spend and share my money wisely. Guide me in what I should and should not do. I submit everything to you, my Lord and my God.
3 For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. 2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to build up. 4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. 5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 6 A time to search and a time to quit searching. A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. 12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.
14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people should fear him. 15 What is happening now has happened before, and what will happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the same things happen over and over again.
16 I also noticed that under the sun there is evil in the courtroom. Yes, even the courts of law are corrupt! 17 I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.”
18 I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. 19 For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! 20 Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. 21 For who can prove that the human spirit goes up and the spirit of animals goes down into the earth? 22 So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life. And no one can bring us back to see what happens after we die.
Ecclesiastes 3
Dear God, let’s face it, most everyone over 40 knows the beginning of this song from The Byrds classic, “Turn, Turn, Turn.”
I could spend a lot of time talking about the different seasons in life, but I am actually drawn to two other parts of this chapter. First, verse 11: 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. I think my Mothers of the Bible and Fathers of the Bible series taught me that I will never be able to see what you are doing in the grand scope of things. My life is too short and my mind is too small. Naomi could never have seen that her path in life would lead to the lineage of Jesus (through Ruth and Boaz, to Obed, to Jesse, to David, to, ultimately, Jesus.) Hagar couldn’t have seen her suffering would lead to her freedom from slavery until much later in life. I can’t even figure out how taking a trip this week impacts the rest of my life. Almost nothing is known to me. And that’s okay. It’s just hard to learn to accept.
Then there is the part in verses 18-20: 18 I also thought about the human condition—how God proves to people that they are like animals. 19 For people and animals share the same fate—both breathe and both must die. So people have no real advantage over the animals. How meaningless! 20 Both go to the same place—they came from dust and they return to dust. I mentioned this the other day after I read the whole book at once and then prayed about my takeaways. Solomon (or the person writing from his perspective) has such a Solomon-centric, humancentric view of the world at this point, that he sees the only path as being self indulgence. Verses 12 and 13: 12 So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. Verse 22a: 22 So I saw that there is nothing better for people than to be happy in their work. That is our lot in life.
Whenever I think of the quiet sufferer who didn’t “live their best life now” (see Joel Osteen’s heresy) I think of the poor widow who put a couple of coins into the offering at the Temple. Jesus saw it and gathered his disciples around him to point it out and use it as a teachable moment. But there is no evidence that she ever knew he saw her. There is no evidence she ever had any more money when she died than she did that day. And there is no evidence that she ever knew that her act of worship and duty to you would be preserved as an example to billions of people over the millennia. So Solomon, I know you didn’t have her as an example yet when you wrote this, but she is my example. My life is not about me.
Father, we are on an interesting journey through Ecclesiastes. It’s a little like Job where you have a lot of people talking and saying the wrong things, including Job. Taken out of context, this could be a dangerous book. But for me the message of peace is found in 3:11: 11 Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I trust you with eternity. I trust you with my life. I trust you with my wife’s and children’s lives. My wife and I prayed for a cousin who is getting married today. I trust you with their lives as well. Be God. Don’t let one thing slip from your notice. And use every struggle to refine all of us into your children.
I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
2 I said to myself, “Come on, let’s try pleasure. Let’s look for the ‘good things’ in life.” But I found that this, too, was meaningless. 2 So I said, “Laughter is silly. What good does it do to seek pleasure?” 3 After much thought, I decided to cheer myself with wine. And while still seeking wisdom, I clutched at foolishness. In this way, I tried to experience the only happiness most people find during their brief life in this world.
4 I also tried to find meaning by building huge homes for myself and by planting beautiful vineyards. 5 I made gardens and parks, filling them with all kinds of fruit trees. 6 I built reservoirs to collect the water to irrigate my many flourishing groves. 7 I bought slaves, both men and women, and others were born into my household. I also owned large herds and flocks, more than any of the kings who had lived in Jerusalem before me. 8 I collected great sums of silver and gold, the treasure of many kings and provinces. I hired wonderful singers, both men and women, and had many beautiful concubines. I had everything a man could desire!
9 So I became greater than all who had lived in Jerusalem before me, and my wisdom never failed me. 10 Anything I wanted, I would take. I denied myself no pleasure. I even found great pleasure in hard work, a reward for all my labors. 11 But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind. There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
12 So I decided to compare wisdom with foolishness and madness (for who can do this better than I, the king?). 13 I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness. 14 For the wise can see where they are going, but fools walk in the dark.” Yet I saw that the wise and the foolish share the same fate. 15 Both will die. So I said to myself, “Since I will end up the same as the fool, what’s the value of all my wisdom? This is all so meaningless!” 16 For the wise and the foolish both die. The wise will not be remembered any longer than the fool. In the days to come, both will be forgotten.
17 So I came to hate life because everything done here under the sun is so troubling. Everything is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
18 I came to hate all my hard work here on earth, for I must leave to others everything I have earned. 19 And who can tell whether my successors will be wise or foolish? Yet they will control everything I have gained by my skill and hard work under the sun. How meaningless! 20 So I gave up in despair, questioning the value of all my hard work in this world.
21 Some people work wisely with knowledge and skill, then must leave the fruit of their efforts to someone who hasn’t worked for it. This, too, is meaningless, a great tragedy. 22 So what do people get in this life for all their hard work and anxiety? 23 Their days of labor are filled with pain and grief; even at night their minds cannot rest. It is all meaningless.
24 So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work. Then I realized that these pleasures are from the hand of God. 25 For who can eat or enjoy anything apart from him?26 God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy to those who please him. But if a sinner becomes wealthy, God takes the wealth away and gives it to those who please him. This, too, is meaningless—like chasing the wind.
Ecclesiastes 2
Dear God, as I read this chapter this morning I thought of a friend of my dad’s. I might have his philosophy incorrect, so I don’t want to use his name. Or my dad might have misinterpreted his philosophy to me. Either way, when I read this this morning, I thought of my perception of his philosophy which is, “Make your money and accumulate your wealth in the first half of your life and then use the second half of your life doing something or multiple things that are significant for God.” He even wrote a best selling book that showed people how to use the second half of their lives effectively. I think it was mainly designed for men and women who already found themselves in a midlife crisis, and it wasn’t written for the 20-year-old who was setting out on their career.
My dad and I were talking about this book recently, and he recounted this philosophy to me again. I told him that I disagreed with it. And now, reading this passage in Ecclesiastes, I kind of know why. Even this search for significance in the second half of life is chasing the wind. It is grasping for the things Solomon is grasping for in this passage. The money and wealth sought in the first half of life are just replaced with significance and joy.
There are two great commands Jesus gave us: love you and love others. Then he gave us this amazing sermon in Matthew 5-7 that basically outlines the standard we should strive for as we live out our salvation. Part of that living out of our salvation is to reframe my life. My life is not about my significance! The sooner I come to peace with that and accept it, ironically, the happier I will be.
My wife and I were talking yesterday about how, other than the constant sorrow that is in our lives through broken relationships, we are in a very good place. We have no complaints. Basically, life is good right now. Even as she was saying the words, I wanted to look over my shoulder for another shoe that could drop. Maybe one of us will have a health issue. Maybe I’ll have an unforeseen problem at work. We could have a health issue with another family member. Really, the possibilities are endless. And I don’t want those things. I like it easy. But I hope that should calamity or headwinds come, I won’t complain to you.
Father, I’ve been disappointed with you before. But you used that disappointment to teach me these lessons. And I know I still have more to learn, and sometimes the only way I can learn them is through struggling. So I am absolutely not inviting those struggles, but I pray that when you have something for me to learn, you will give me a teachable heart that will take the lesson and worship you for the rest of my days.
I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,
My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does, in fact, please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I will do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen.
Thomas Merton
Dear God, I came across this prayer last night. It was apparently a favorite of an old family friend who recently passed away. It expressed thoughts I’ve often felt but didn’t quite have the words for. It made me just want to sit with it a bit and talk with you about it.
I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end.
There are a lot of times when I am praying that the song “Lord, I Don’t Know” from the Newsboys will come to mind. The chorus starts, “Lord, I don’t know where all this is going or how it all works out.” Frankly, no one knows where they are going. Not one of us. None of us see the road ahead. Not one of us. We have not idea where our road ends. Not one of us. And we do not see where our neighbor’s road ends either. And yet we spend so much time thinking about the future. I spend so much time thinking about how things will work out for me and my loved ones. What will happen with the election? If this person wins or that person wins, what will happen? Frankly, it’s simply not within my purview to focus on that. What will happen at the end of life for my wife and me? Which of us will have to go on without the other? What will happen if I run out of money before I die? What will happen in my children’s lives? My nieces and nephews?
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
Life is a bit of a fog. My mind is a bit of a fog. From the moment all of us are born, we are operating under some level of delusion. We think we have needs we don’t have. We are afraid of things we don’t need to be afraid of. Then we grow and are raised by parents, relatives, friends, teachers, etc. who are living in as much of a fog as we are. Sometimes they teach us wrong things. We have biases. We have secret fears, and we will take shortcuts and sin to protect ourselves. And then we take all of that into the world. I take my confusion and apply it to life.
I’m about to put this set of prayer journals out from the prayers I did to you over biblical characters who were parents. I made a lot of assumptions in there. Some of them might be wrong. I get an idea to do something like put this thing out. Maybe that’s the wrong thing to do. Twenty-two years ago, I felt you call me to quit my job and set out in search of the career you had for me. I felt very much in the middle of your will at that moment. I remember reading something from someone at the time who talked about following your will and they said something to the effect of, “When I did this and absolutely knew I was in the middle of God’s will, after that I was afraid to cross the street if it wasn’t in God’s will.” But how do we know? I make all kinds of decisions every day that may or may not be in your will. I don’t intend to get outside of it, but I do.
My wife told me this week about a project she’s working on, and she told me she realized she had never asked you before she decided to do it. Yeah, I probably wouldn’t have either. I don’t stop and ask for your input on these things nearly often enough.
But I believe that the desire to please you does, in fact, please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
I do believe that earnestness goes a long way. I suppose I have to believe that. If I don’t think you look at my genuine love for you and, instead, look only on my actual actions and decisions then there is no hope. When my children were little, if they did something wrong but it was for the right reason then it was a lot easier to overlook. If, however, it was intentionally malicious then there was hopefully a lesson to be learned about motive, integrity, and empathy. Even being here this morning, praying before you, I have a long day ahead. I am having breakfast with a friend in a couple of hours. I’m working a water booth at a festival after that. Then I’ll do other things and talk to other people. I have all kinds of opportunities to be dishonoring to you and to get outside of your plan. But I can tell you right now that my desire is to simply love you and represent your presence in this world through my little life.
And I know that if I will do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
This is where faith comes in. When I did my “Parents of the Bible” series, one of the things that became very clear is that no one knew how things would turn out. Hagar didn’t know how things were going to play out for her and Ishmael. Naomi didn’t know how things would turn out after losing her husband and sons. Zechariah and Elizabeth didn’t know how things were turn out for John the Baptist and Jesus. And I have zero idea what is happening on the road I’m on right now. But I am trusting you that this road for me, my wife, my children, and others I love is the right road for your plan. It’s all I have. Atheists would say I am using my faith as a crutch, and perhaps I am. But you are a crutch I’ve reasoned myself towards. You’re an educated crutch. And it’s ironic that the closer I find myself growing to you the more I feel the fruit of your Holy Spirit growing in me. But yes, even when I am in the valley of the shadow of death, I am trusting this is the path for me, and that you have made it resistant to whatever mistakes I make.
Therefore I will I trust you always, though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.
Speaking of the valley of the shadow of death, here it is in the prayer. This part about you never leaving me to face my perils alone reminds me of the poem “Footprints in the Sand.”
One night I dreamed a dream. As I was walking along the beach with my Lord. Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand, One belonging to me and one to my Lord.
After the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that at many times along the path of my life, especially at the very lowest and saddest times, there was only one set of footprints.
This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it. “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you, You’d walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”
He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you Never, ever, during your trials and testings. When you saw only one set of footprints, It was then that I carried you.”
Father, there are times when I really need you to carry me. And there are other times when I am ready to put my feet down and get to work. As I enter this week of vacation, I think there is a little of both ahead of me. I could use some carrying and comfort. But I also think this might be an opportunity to make some progress on some personal things you’re asking me to do. But it all starts with me being here in your presence, with a heart that is flawed but earnest. With a life that can be selfish but repentant. With a heart that is afraid, but learning to trust you. Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief. All that I am, for all that you are.
51 As the time drew near for him to ascend to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. 52 He sent messengers ahead to a Samaritan village to prepare for his arrival. 53 But the people of the village did not welcome Jesus because he was on his way to Jerusalem. 54 When James and John saw this, they said to Jesus, “Lord, should we call down fire from heaven to burn them up?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 So they went on to another village.
Luke 9:51-56
Dear God, I think I want to look closely at verse 53 this morning. The Samaritans at that time made a huge mistake. All they saw was a rabbi wanting to stay there on his way to Jerusalem for the Passover. How dare this Jewish snob (probably their view of him) use them while he looked down on them! Their pride, anger, and hurt led them into a bad decision.
How much does that still happen today? I was listening to the Voxology Podcast for this week yesterday. They were talking about the culture war and how Jesus would fight it, leaning on what he said during the Sermon on the Mount. It made me think about the controversial Olympics opening ceremony where drag queens simulated a dinner that was controversial. When many Christians saw it they were indignant and let their displeasure be known. In this story today from Luke, the people who were mad remind me of the Samaritans who told Jesus he wasn’t welcome there and also James and John who were ready to call down fire on them for their insolence. Samaritans: How dare he?!? James and John: How dare they?!?
Father, help me to see all of this with Jesus’s eyes. Help me to see those drag queens with Jesus’s eyes. Help me to love them. Help me to love anyone who comes across my path today. Let it start with the children I’m about to read to at the school. Use me this morning in your kingdom. Use me at work. Use me in my family. Use me for my wife. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee.
