My wife “jokes” (without laughing) that I have two gears: 5th and off. Yeah, I guess it’s not funny. As I said in the first two parts of this initial post (here and here), my life has been driven largely by a destination orientation – a fast pursuit of goals in 5th gear. At age 50 now, I’m learning that those pursuits at that pace has caused me to miss a lot of God’s grace along the way. A lot of 2nd, 3rd and 4th gear grace. So my hope now as I transition from the harried rush of 15 years as senior pastor back to student is to find a better pace for this long walk with Christ.
But how? If you are like me, finding 2nd, 3rd or 4th gear is hard. So for the next several weeks this is what I’ll be reflecting on: HOW to seek grace in every step of this long walk with Christ.
I think it starts with a Biblical “big, chill” vision.
This week we moved from Austin to St. Louis and on the way we stopped in Kilgore, Texas to visit my mom’s grave (my family has deep roots in East Texas). As we did, I was reminded of an illustration Alistair Begg once gave in his amazing Scottish accent about making the most of the “dash between your two dates.” The dash between the birth year and death year on your tombstone. His point – if I remember correctly – was that we should not fritter away our time in this life. Amen! That God has a vision for our lives and wants to use us to bring his Gospel to a dying world. It’s a BIG vision that ought to inform every aspect of how we live: how we love our neighbor, how we care for our children and the environment, how we view the arts, how we conduct ourselves at work, and how we spend our time and energy and money. We are an integral part of God’s mission to “make all things new” (see Revelation 21:5).
It’s this BIG Biblical vision that has helped me make sure that my goals are aligned with God’s goals for the world. Aligned with His “all things new” mission. Are your goals aimed at that? As I mentioned last week, goal setting is a Biblical concept, but our goals ought to ultimately line up with God’s goals in this world. His goals of redemption. His goals to fix and bless and be kind. Some of us need to reevaluate our goals to make sure they line up that way.
But my problem has never been a lack of seeing God’s big vision for life. It’s been with the pace that I’ve gone about it. That’s why we not only need the Bible’s BIG vision, but we also need it’s CHILL vision too. See, for me, thinking of life as “a dash between my two dates” has also made me a slave to time and death. Sometimes I feel like I’ve got to cram everything into that dash – like cramming for a test – which makes me stressed and anxious and super, super busy. I sometimes fall into the trap of needing to justify myself by efficiently completing some moral or cultural or occupational bucket list that will earn me a decent legacy once I’m gone. And so I get stuck in 5th gear. And that’s why I need to be reminded about what the Bible says is essential to how we are to work towards God’s “all things new” vision.
The apostle Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 15 that because of Jesus’ victory on Easter, life is not a test. We don’t need to cram in order to justify ourselves because Jesus has already aced the test for us. In Him we are counted righteous even though we are still broken, sinful people. But he has set us free from the bondage of that sin. So now we can chill with all the anxiety about proving our worth by meeting goals.
But also Paul says that a resurrected Christ has made our “perishable bodies imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:42-54). In short he’s saying that life ought not be defined by that end date on our tombstone and therefore not lived under the tyranny of the time crunch. We ought not live like each day was our last, but instead we should live in the truth that our days last! With all due respect to Pastor Begg (he truly is one of my very favorite preachers), the Bible doesn’t give the vision of our lives as a dash between two dates, but rather as an arrow that reaches into eternity in communion with God. When I say it’s a long walk, I mean it’s a LONG walk! Christ has set us free not only from the bondage to sin, but also to the tyranny of time and death!
Paul goes on to mock death like an impotent bully. Verse 55: “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” He explains that there is continuity between our lives now and our lives for eternity. And then he ends the thought by exhorting the Corinthians to work hard, “knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain (v. 58)”. Why end this way? Because he wants them and us to know that what we do now is not for the purpose of leaving a decent legacy for ourselves, but for the purpose of glorifying our God who made our lives everlasting. So think BIG, but also CHILL! We’ve got lots and lots of time.
Have you every thought about the fact that God is not stressed out by time? And doesn’t want us to be either? If you knew that, what difference would that make in how you live your life?
In His sermon on the mount, Jesus makes much of this BIG, CHILL vision. He exhorts us to make sure our goals line up with his. “Lay up treasures in heaven” he says (Matthew 6:20). “Seek first the Kingdom of God” instead of your own kingdom of self-justification (Matthew 6:33). Have a BIG vision! But also “Be anxious for nothing” (Matthew 6:25) because God is in control and his love and care for us eternally allows us to slow down, to listen, to learn, and to linger with Him on the way. To enjoy his grace in every step of this long walk with him.
In that old John Denver song I talked about last week, Rocky Mountain High, there’s a line in the chorus that’s a great reminder of this:
“And the Colorado Rocky Mountain High,”
“I’ve seen it rain and fire in the sky.”
“Talk to God and listen to His casual reply….”
I’ve always imagined that casual reply to go something like this: “Chill, Jay. I’ve got this. Work hard, yes. But enjoy the grace I’ve given as you go. It’s ok. You’re ok. Chill.” I need to hear that casual reply over and over again these days. Maybe you do too? I believe it’s this big, chill Biblical vision that is the beginning of a healthier, more joyful life in 2nd or 3rd or 4th gear.
Love this. Love you, husband.