Emails to God – One thing I lack… (Luke 18:18-23)

¹⁸ A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁹ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. ²⁰ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”

²¹ “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.

²² When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²³ When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy.

Dear God, there is a fatigue in self-sufficiency. It can be hard to always do things yourself—to insist on being able to say that you are the one who deserves credit for everything you have accomplished. That’s what this rich young ruler was saying: “I have done it. I have done it all. From honoring the commandments to making money, I have done it within my power and succeeded.”

I am reading a book right now where the “hero” (protagonist is probably a better word because I don’t know that he is that heroic) has accomplished a lot on his own. He started out poor, became a star running back in college, and then a successful lawyer. But the writer is doing a good job of setting up the idea that, even though the man sees his life as safe and impenetrable, it is actually very fragile and only a couple of things have to go wrong for it to all fall apart.

Father, help me to surrender my resources, talent, sinfulness, and everything in between to you. Help me to embrace and absorb you a little more each day. Help me to never cease taking you into my being and surrendering all of me to you. I metaphorically turn my fists downward, open them up and drop everything to which I hold so tight, and then turn my open palms up to you, asking that you will them simply with your presence. And then help me to influence my children to do the same.

 

Emails to God – “You may now dismiss your servant in peace.” (Luke 2:28-32)

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel

Dear God, I am going to break with the normal routine of going through Matthew and use http://www.biblegateway.com for the verse of the day. I wonder what it would be like to perceivably reach the end of my life and be ready to go. Since I have had this job I have gotten more used to the idea of my own death because I see so many memorial donations come through for loved ones who have died. I can see that it truly happens to everyone—none of us are going to get out of life alive.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon with my wife’s 97-(soon to be 98-)year-old grandmother. It was a nice visit with her, and I think she is doing remarkably well. It was our last conversation right before we left that struck me. I think she is feeling her time ending. She told me that my wife and I need to be thinking about what we will want to say at her memorial service. She talked for a few minutes about the end and how her doctor told her he was trying to get her to 100, and she said that she didn’t really want that. I think she is about to the point where she is physically done. She is emotionally spend after having lost her daughter (my wife’s mother). She is even getting mentally spent.

Father, my prayer for her is that she will get to Simeon’s point of peace. That is the only thing that was missing from our conversation yesterday. She is tired, and she is girding herself for death, but she is not yet at peace with the idea. Help her, regardless of how many days, months, or even years she has left, to be at peace. Administer your peace through her remaining daughter. Administer your peace through her sons-in-law. Administer peace through her grandchildren, great grandchildren, and friends. Administer your peace through your spirit as she sits alone and ponders all that you are, all that you have been, and all that you will be to her.