thinking

The book Interrupted has caused a number of us to do some thinking about our lives.  Some people don't like to think about their lives, they don't like to be challenged.  Some think, Lets stick our heads in the sand and pretend that life is just the way that I want it to be.

Socrates is reported to have said, "the unexamined life is not worth living."  Oh, well since that comes from Greek thought, we can dismiss it as unchristian right?  Wrong.  All truth is God's truth, whether we find it at the Christian bookstore or not.  Jesus challenged everyone to change the way that they were thinking about life.

And so we come to our annual stewardship drive.  A time when we all consider if and how much we are giving to our church.  Did you know that 50% of the members of most churches give nothing at all to God's work?  This bothers some people but to me this is simply a sign of who our mission field is.  All of us can do something and often the joy of giving is learned a little bit at  time.

An opportunity to consider how we spend our money is an important time of re-evaluation.  It affords us the chance to measure our values and make a course correction if needed.  One of the characteristics that I see in long term Christians is that they do tend to give more.  Sometimes it is because they make more, but often it is because they have asked themselves the questions of value so many times that they are finally seeing that a person can only collect so much to themselves and that the real joy in life is giving to God's purpose.

If you have not already done so, and regardless of where you attend, please prayerfully fill out a commitment card to your church.  Your investment in others may be the first step in a new journey of discovering joy and meaning in this life.  Living life outside of ourselves, we find the life that truly is life.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.