May It End Well

Life is more than the body. The body is just a vessel to carry this life around for a season. There will come a season, though when I will leave this body. Here on earth we call this leaving, death because we have no other name for it. It is the end. When I die my existence on this earth, in this body will be over.

We run from this. We are afraid of this. And rightly so – for we really are not sure what happens when we leave this body, but leave this body we will.

We can experience a little of this fear of death when we enter silence and solitude. When there is noise; when there are people around; when there are many tasks to attend we are able to assure ourselves that we are alive, that we are useful and needed. Henri Nouwen speaks of this in his book Our Greatest Gift: Meditations on Dying and Caring, “While sitting alone in my little hermitage, I realize how unprepared I am to die. The silence and solitude… are sufficient to make me aware of my unwillingness to let go of life.” (3) It is in this kind of silence and solitude that I now reflect on my own death.

One day I will die. One day I will no longer be needed in this world. One day I will be powerless. I think this is what I most fear – I will lose control of everything my body does, my mind will likely be unable to function as it does now, my hands will lose their grip; my normal bodily functions will cease to work correctly.

It is good for me to think on these things while I am most alive; while I am strong and feel most needed and useful to others. It is humbling. And I can use a little humility. It is also clarifying. One day the things that I think are so important; the things that I think matter so much, the happiness I am pursuing and my very usefulness to others will matter very little and finally none at all. A kind of perspective comes into play as I meditate on my death; I see things different for this life that I am now living.

What is truly important in light of this reflection? What will be important to me going forward for the remainder of my life?

First off is my relationship with God. It is from him I have come and to him I will return. I must live out my days for Him and His Kingdom; in obedience to him. When I come to that final day, may I say with St. Paul the Apostle,” I have run the race, I have completed the task that God has given me.”

My family, my wife and my children are also extremely important to me in light of the fact that I will not remain forever on this earth. When everyone else forgets me they will be the last to forget. What kinds of memories will they have of me? I want them to have good memories of me. I want to them to be more committed to God and His Kingdom, more loving to others because of me. I want to leave a lasting, godly legacy to my children and my children’s children. May their inheritance be greater than anything money can buy.

Another thing of great importance is the church. The church is not a place on a map; the church is the people of God, the place where we are to live out God’s earthly Kingdom. May my life; the remainder of my days be spent in such a way as to be a positive influence on the church. May I leave behind a legacy of discipleship. May those I disciple be making disciples who will in turn pass down the legacy of discipleship. May my local church be more committed to God’s glory because I was a part of it. Even when I am forgotten may my legacy of discipleship continue many years past my life.

Beauty is also a thing of importance. Art and culture are important things because they help shape the world and the people in it. My hope is that the world be a more beautiful place because I have existed. I am not concerned only about the things that I make but that the students I teach see to it the work of their hands produce beauty and not ugliness. I desire that their works of art; their works of culture bear the marks of grace and goodness and be reminders of God because I was able to instill this in them.

Lastly I think my health is an important thing. This may seem counter to all this reflection on the certainty of death. Many may say, “We are all going to die anyway, why focus on being healthy?” For me health is another way to bring glory to God. I can be more effective in my body while I am here if I am healthy and strong. Perhaps God will give me more and better days to spend working for His Kingdom on this earth if I do my best to be healthy. I will have more days to glorify God; more days to create good memories for my family; more days; more days to build up disciples who make disciples; more days to create beauty and invest in the lives of students who will create beauty if I am healthy.

When I leave this earth I want the life I have lived to create ripples that will extend to the shores of time. When I enter into another life; another existence in that place Jesus went to prepare for me, may I leave a lasting impression on this place. The life I live in the body will soon end, may it end well.

A Culture of Discipleship at First Assembly of God

Have you have been discipled by another Christian?

This question may seem foreign to most of. Perhaps you have never experienced this or heard about the notion of being discipled before. But this is the model that Jesus gives us in scripture. He took 12 guys walked with him. He taught them, modeled his life before them. Scripture also shows us that he invested even more time into a just a few. Then after his resurrection, before his ascension he told them to “go into all the world and make disciples.” Jesus invested his life in them and sent them out to invest their lives in others.

It was also the model of Paul. Paul invested his life into Timothy in a one on one discipleship relationship, then he told him in 2 Tim. 2:2 “And the things you have heard me say… entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”

“I taught you,” Paul said to Timothy, “now you go and invest your life into men who can be trusted with these teachings.” This principle of reproduction is all over scripture.

You will not be sufficiently discipled by coming to church every Sunday; even if you take notes on every sermon. True discipleship that leads to maturity comes in the context of close relationships. It is one person who has been discipled by another mature Christian man or woman and then passing this on to another man or woman so that they will continue the process of reproduction.

Every person in this church has the potential to be a minister. God has called every person in this church to be a minister. It is not just the pastor’s job to teach us.

Let’s make 1^st Assembly of God a culture of discipleship. Let’s begin a revolution that snowballs into a massive movement in Kankakee, IL. I believe with all my heart that this is how the Kingdom of God will go forward from our church. Will you join in the revolution?