Fourteen months ago, I “retired” from full-time local pulpit ministry. Over the last year, I have spent a lot of time reflecting about the nature of life.
Jan and I have entered a new phase of life–a time when we have the privilege (luxury) of picking and choosing our activities, applying our hearts to wisdom, doing those things that matter the most to us. The absence of a regular daily schedule has not slowed our lives–in fact, it appears that life may have accelerated, but in new and fresh ways, with new opportunities.
Today I will preach. I have retired from “full time preaching” but this is my seventh Sunday of preaching in the last two months.
This is also Memorial Day weekend. We are remembering those who have gone before us. All are in the procession that leads to the grave, and one day we will no longer be among the living. We will be among those whose lives are a part of history. How does one measure life? What are we giving our lives for? When all is said and done, what have we been about? What is life? What is the goal of life? There are many ways to summarize our goals and dreams. Here is one version: Live a life of wisdom!
Wisdom enables the authentic life and avoids shadows and illusions. Wisdom avoids self-deception. Wisdom makes effective choices; wisdom identifies real priorities and discards the artificial, fleeting priorities of the urgent. Hearts applied to wisdom understand what really matters.
Tomorrow I may summarize the goal of my life in different words, but today my prayer will be: Lord, give me wisdom! The Bible teaches that such a prayer will be honored by God (James 1:5).