I said I did. He smirked. I asked him what he believed. "I tried your religion for a while," he said. "I found it's just a burden to carry. You know what I've figured out? Life justifies living. Life is its own reward and explanation. I don't need some pie-in-the-sky mirage to keep me going. This life has enough pleasure and mystery and adventure in it not to need anything else to account for it. Life justifies living."
"Good," I said. "Very good. And I believe you. Today, here, now?feel the warmth of that breeze, listen to the laughter of those people, smell the spiciness of that shrimp cooking, look at the blueness of the sky. Yes, today I believe you. What a superb philosophy. Life justifies living. Bravo!
from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers,
but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world,
but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 1 Peter 1:18-20
Mark Buchanan, pastor of New Life Baptist Church in Duncan, tells of a conversation with a philosophy student during a wedding reception. The student asked Mark if he really believed all that religious stuff he spouted every week in church. Mark writes,
I said I did. He smirked. I asked him what he believed. "I tried your religion for a while," he said. "I found it's just a burden to carry. You know what I've figured out? Life justifies living. Life is its own reward and explanation. I don't need some pie-in-the-sky mirage to keep me going. This life has enough pleasure and mystery and adventure in it not to need anything else to account for it. Life justifies living."
"Good," I said. "Very good. And I believe you. Today, here, now?feel the warmth of that breeze, listen to the laughter of those people, smell the spiciness of that shrimp cooking, look at the blueness of the sky. Yes, today I believe you. What a superb philosophy. Life justifies living. Bravo!
"Only, I'm thinking about someone I met last February. Richard. Richard was 44, looked 60, and had been living on the streets since he was 12. He was a junkie. To support his habit, he was a male prostitute until he got too old and ugly and diseased for that. Now he has AIDS.
"The last time I saw Richard was on a gray, rainy day in winter. I bought him a bus ticket and put him on the bus. He was going to his mother's home in
"I'm thinking about Richard. And I'm thinking about Ernie. Ernie was a man on the rise. While he was in his twenties, he was already vice president of a thriving national business. He was tough-minded, hard-driving, prodigiously skilled, hugely ambitious. He was a superb athlete, a natural at any sport. He had a beautiful wife. They were unable to have children of their own, so they adopted four, three from
"Yes, I'm thinking about Richard and Ernie. And I have a question about your philosophy: How exactly do I explain to them that life justifies living?"
The young philosophy student had no response. He said he'd have to think about it and get back to me. I gave him my address and asked him to write me when he came up with something. I never heard from him. Because life does not justify living. Eternity does.1
On a more prosaic level, we all know what it is to have lost money in mutual funds, or to see our fixed incomes shrink because the stock and bond market fell a few years back. Virtually everyone felt it when that bubble burst. Or we've just had bad business deals that have cost us. Sometimes they cost us big time. That hurts.Some know what it is to invest in a person and have that investment go bad. You invest yourself, your time, your energy, your hope, your love, maybe your future in a relationship only to be rejected or have the person bitterly disappoint you.
There is an axiom about loving. To love is to risk. On good days when love is returned, that's a worthwhile risk to take. When it goes sour and you are left with the ashes perhaps of years of faith in a person, you may sit in the quiet of your home or apartment and wonder if it is safe ever to trust again.
And so where do you invest yourself where you are confident its worth the risk?
Some become bitter and cynical. You know the bitter ones by their anger and their hard shell of suspicion and cynicism.
Some distance from trust by choosing to love humanity, but never a person.
Causes are great and philosophies help us make sense of the world, but they are no substitute for real involvement with real people. But some people find safety in the distance of being abstract.
There are a host of ways of keeping safe from the world of people and pain.
A bumper sticker you've probably seen reads, "The more people I meet, the more I like my dog."
Where are you safe?
Can you say like the young man that life is its own reward, or is there a better answer?
The book that I am going to be using for the next few weeks is the first letter of Peter, or first Peter.
The traditional theory of authorship is that it was written by Peter from Rome around the late 60's AD and was written to various churches undergoing persecution. The letters, whether they are written by the Peter of the gospels or not, are written by a person with a loving pastoral heart and are among the most engaging and easy to read of all the books of the New Testament.
In the passage that we read earlier, Peter says:
Or, remember that you are just passing through.
There is an old hymn that goes,
I'm just passing through.
It's an approach that says, don't make this your primary investment.
If you find your motivation hoping that you will be rewarded here and now, you will look at life totally differently than if you see there is an eternity which is guaranteed by God.
Peter goes on to say,
But your worth is established by the fact that God was willing to pay for your salvation with the blood of Jesus.
The implication then is don't succumb to the same old value system.
Your worth is established in eternity. Remember that.
And since your worth is established in the blood of Jesus and guaranteed by eternity, it gives a new dimension to how we invest ourselves here and now.
If you knew that your investments were guaranteed by Bill Gates' fortune, you'd be a lot less anxious about the occasional downturn in the market.
Knowing that our destiny is guaranteed by the King of the universe means that as long as you follow His plan, you cannot ultimately lose. Yes there may be setbacks and disappointments. There may be pain and sorrow, but ultimately God will recover those losses for us.
Jesus puts it in different words, but the same message. He says, "don't get focused on building up a storehouse of possessions here and now. Those are just destined for the scrap heap and you can lose them. Instead, focus on heavenly values and you will find that God will guarantee an eternity filled with more than we could possibly desire."
God was willing to invest in you.
Are you willing to return the faith He first showed by investing in Him?
You've probably never heard of Wilbert Williams. He's not famous or rich. Still, Williams received an honor normally reserved for the connected, powerful, and wealthy. On
What did someone as unknown as Williams do to deserve such a tribute? The question becomes even more compelling when you realize that for nearly 40 years, Wilbert Williams has worked at the Woman's Athletic Club as a doorman. Normally, an honorary street sign goes to people who get the door held open for them?not to the one holding the door.
What set Williams apart? He has carried out his duties in an exemplary fashion. Police Officer Paul O'Donnell said, "In all these years, I've never heard him speak a harsh word about anyone. He's a gentleman." Through his kindness and service to others, Williams made an impact on those who he met at the corner of
Having a street named after you is impressive. How much greater the honor God promises to give to those who serve him well, an eternal inheritance that will never spoil or fade away.2
We are all just passing through whether we choose to live like pilgrims or not.And there is nothing in this world we can keep.
A good sailor knows his port of destination and keeps checking the charts to make he is on course.
Our port of destination is an eternity with Christ.
He already has the reservation paid for.
It's up to us to keep our eyes on the chart and make sure we are on course.
Peter quotes Isaiah 40 and says,
and their glory is like a wild flower.
The grass withers
and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord stands forever.
Sure when we are young it seems we are invincible and will live forever, but the older you get you understand the wisdom of Isaiah. Fame and fortune, satisfying relationships, money and security are all fine, but they are temporary.
What God guarantees never withers and is never out of season.
Invest in God.
It's the best deal you will ever get.
Preached April 3, 2005
Dr. Harold McNabb
West Shore Presbyterian Church
Victoria, British Columbia
Notes
1. Mark Buchanan, "Is Life Its Own Reward?" Discipleship Journal (July/August 2003);
2 John Beukema,