How Then Shall We Live?

I looked out over the crowd of men and saw some puzzled looks. Not many, but enough to notice. I was speaking to about 50 men and their sons at a Father/ Son Retreat- I had just made the statement,

"If you are doing something-

Anything-

And God is not in it-

If He is not somehow being considered-

Somehow placed at the center-

Then what you are doing is a waste of time."

Have you ever heard the expression,

"Don't become so Heavenly Minded-

That you are no Earthly Good"

I think I know what people mean when they say that- It's the idea that living with my head in the clouds will blind me- Blind me to what is going on around me- Things around me that could use my attention here....... Now...............Today. I suppose maybe there might be people like that- I guess I would label them as "Religious". Oh now there's a word I have a great distaste for- Religious- I won't go there today- Instead, I am wondering what it really means to be Heavenly Minded- Or maybe another way to say it is Eternally Minded.

What would my life look like today

If I were to become consumed with..........

Eternity?

Now I do not mean sitting around dwelling on what is to come. No, what I mean is the notion of living today- Each and every moment- Like it somehow makes a difference for Eternity. I belive God created us to be living expressions of His Glory- Living, breathing, visible expressions of who He Is. And as we live in the reality of who He Is......... In us- As that touches every moment of our lives- We are somehow brought to Life-

All the rest is existence.

So what about it-

How are our lives reflecting Heavenly mindedness- Eternity mindedness- Even the Glory of God?How is it happening in my rising in the mornings? How is it reflected in having my coffee? How am I connecting to my Father as I do what I do-In my interacions with people all around me-In the class room- In my work-In the mundane- Washing dishes or Ironing pants- In my music or television or reading or writing-Are these things and all the rest being done with Eternity in sight?

These things matter...........

Somehow................

Even these things matter...........

As expressions of the Glory of God.

There in the crowd of men and their sons-

I see a nod, then another-

Someone gets it!

Thank You Jesus.

2 Corinthians 4:18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen-

but on what is unseen.

For what is seen is temporary-

But what is unseen is Eternal.

Father be in me today so that everything I do becomes somehow an expression of Your Life and Goodness and Love to all those You bring my way. Forgive me for where I have and will forget You- For where I have and will become so earthly minded I become no good for anything.

Amen