Coming and Going
This weekend my pastor mentioned that pride may be the biggest stumbling block for baby-boomer Christians as they approach retirement. They worked hard their entire lives, raised and educated their children and have earned what they have. When they were younger, they were heavily involved in Christian ministry and they gave their time, energy and money for the sake of the Church. Yes, God blessed them but it's still true that they're the ones that worked hard every day of their lives.
As they near the age of retirement, they're planning how to spend their golden years. They've invested wisely and now they need to learn how to take it slow, to take it easy with their spouse and to spoil their grandchildren. And now it's time to start taking it easy in church, too. Retiring from their careers may equate to retiring from active Christian ministry, or even from regular attendance in church.
In contrast, I know of one person that used to be actively involved in church but eventually decided to concentrate on their career. This person stopped going to church altogether but promised that they would 'get back into it' once they retired and had more time.
And so people come and go. My pastor mentioned that he has already performed four different funerals since the new year for non-Christians. He said that he always ends his funeral sermons with this question: "If this was your funeral, what would we say about you?"
Did you work hard in school and work for many years? Did you raise a loving family? Did you spend your last decades enjoying the fruits of your labour? Did you give God what you had? Did you accomplish the purposes that he set for you before you were born?
And so people come and go. I don't want to come and go. I want to live for God.
6 comments:
Amen.
I would've thought it'd be the other way around and since they have more time, they'd do more stuff, maybe even missionary work.
Hmmm, I think that people deserve to have a rest, sort of like how God made the Sabbath day the day of rest. And like ecclesiastes there is a time and season for everything.
I don't think that God wanted us to burn ourselves out working really hard. Life is all about the journey not the destination or final goals. And I suppose we should always try to live for God while doing so.
BTW, I think it is very inappropriate to try to send a life altering message at a funeral. It's a hard time for a family, and they don't need the extra stress and guilt of not leading a perfect life on their shoulders too.
Cheers,
Re: "guilt of not leading a perfect life"
My apologies, I see how my words could have come across that way. That's not the message of Christ, nor the message that pastors try to communicate, nor the message that I was trying to communicate.
My point was that I want my life to mean something of eternal significance. That doesn't mean living a perfect life. My point with the examples was that well-intentioned people can easily find reasons to live a long life without God.
Re: Evangelism at Funerals
Respectfully, I disagree. Death - and birth - are the two biggest "life-altering messages" that we have, without words ever being spoken.
Well, I think that people can still lead lives close to God but not be actively involved in ministry. For example Jesus didn't start his ministry until late in life. We may question why people seem to be coming and going, but I think it's just the flow of life and how there is a time and a place for everything.
P.S. As I see birth and death at work, I am sometimes stuck by how profound things are. For example at the time the Tsunami hit I was helping to deliver twins.
Cheers,
Thanks, Amanda. Very cool to hear about your personal connection between birth and the tsunami. I agree that there is a time for everything but at the end of the day the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 is still our responsibility, right?
I think that I think about the Great Comission differently. I think that sometimes we can help eachother to see Christ without it always being obvious. For example someone may be a great father to his children, which then make friends with other children and so Christ is shared that way. I think that active ministry can starts at home and doesn't have to be complicated.
Cheers,
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