A few months ago, I had a stroke and did not even know I was in this world. I finally came to myself in the ICU at the hospital and my wife Joy began to tell me about my very eventful day in the Emergency Room with the Stroke Trauma Team that I knew absolutely nothing about.
In the past several months as I have worked to recover, I have learned many lessons about many things. One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned is just what a precious gift we have been given with this thing that we call life.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. -1 Corinthians 15:52
One of the most meaningful lessons that I am learning is the preciousness of moments and how careless and flippant I have often been with them in the past by simply taking them for granted.
The reality of this human existence is that we are not guaranteed the next moment and if we don’t get the next moment, then the last moment was it, so we better allow every moment to unfold and learn be grateful for the gifts it brings.
One day last week, I was sitting in our living room and there were toys scattered all over the place. In the middle of the floor was a wooden bowl, spatula and a little car. When I looked at them I smiled inside and out and then began to cry tears of joy as I thought about my Grand Daughter Addi Jo stirring up some “make believe” deliciousness in that bowl and then offering me a bite. I was still getting blessing and joy from the moment even after it passed.
Life is a series of moments strung together by memories, so make sure that you are cherishing each moment as the special gift from God that it is, because we never know when this moment might be our last…
This morning I spent a little bit of time at Eureka talking about how we are not meant to do life by ourselves. I talked about how we were created by love, in love and for love. This is one of those things that I have known for quiet some time, but as I grow older, I seem to get it more and more and I can very clearly see it’s relevance to our everyday life and living.
We Were Created By Love! In the very first book of the Bible Genesis 1:26-28 we read: “26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
This reminds us that we are made in the image of God and given dominion over every living thing. It also explains that God male and female and blessed them with the command to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it. This is not something we do by ourselves, but something we do TOGETHER.
Often times, we tend to think of God as some cruel judge in the sky, just waiting to catch us doing something wrong, so He can fling a lightening bolt, but that is not God at all. Our God is a loving and patient Creator, who want the absolute best for His creation. The Bible teaches us that God is LOVE. God is everything we know as good and so much more…
We Were Created In Love! Thomas Merton said: “Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone – we find it with one another. I heard a story about an experiment with rats. The researches put a rat in a cage and gave it a choice between pure water and drug laced water. Most of the rats chose the drug laced water and often continued drinking it until they over dosed and died. The researchers concluded that if given a choice, the majority of people will use drugs.
This was the prevailing opinion, until another researcher came a long and re-designed the experiment. This time rather than having the rat all alone in a cage, the researcher allowed the rats to live together in what he called a “RAT PARK”, where they could socialize, eat good meals together, exercise, mate and live a fulfilling life. Under these conditions, the researcher found that the majority of rats chose the pure water.
It wasn’t the drug that determined if a person would use drugs or not, but rather their emotional state and their environment that would help decide. Social isolation is not good for any of us and a lack of stimulation that comes from always being alone is not natural and can lead to hopelessness and unhealthy coping strategies. The bottom line: We were created for relationship, friendship and connection.
We Were Created For Love! There is more to this life than just me and my life. There is you and your life and them and their life and all of us we created to do this thing called life together. Before we can offer love to anyone else, we must first receive it for ourselves and give it to ourselves, because when we get this right, then we are ready to share love and acceptance with others.
To get church right, then we must come together on a regular basis to do life together in a better way than we ever could a part or separate from the place and people of church. When I was growing up, it was not just the people my own age that blessed me at church, it was people of all ages and from all walks of life.
Love is the beautiful gift of God that keeps on giving to us and through us. I challenge you to get it right by receiving it and then sharing it with everybody, everywhere in every way you can…
It is hard to recognize the world we are living in now a days, because it has become so destructive, disillusioned and divisive. We look for things to disagree on and grab hold of things that will drive a wedge between us and others. We walk around with a chip on our shoulder, praying someone will try and knock it off, so we might have a chance to knock them off. It has gotten down right ugly and doesn’t look to be turning around any time soon.
The really sad thing is that we see this in places that it used to never be expected. We see it in churches, families and friendships. Now a days it seems the least little thing can become bigger than life and destroy what it took years to build and develop. In the Bible, we find Jesus praying for just the opposite for those that chose to follow Him. He prayed that we might be in agreement, unified and together as one. He knew that we are stronger together than a part.
“20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; 21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: 23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” -John 17:20-23
There is great power in our getting past our differences, which are usually not really a big deal anyway. Division is a tool of the enemy used to keep us a part, so that he can deplete us of our resources and sap us of our strength. This leads to our being broken with very little hope of recovery on our own. The real tragedy is that all of this work to block the blessing of God from flowing into and through our life.
It has never been a part of God’s plan for us to attack one another. It has never been God’s agenda for us to go to war with one another. God does not want us bickering, fighting and quarreling with one another. God wants us to come together with Him and with each other, so that we might be one united relationship of supernatural power that can face and overcome the worst the devil and this world has to throw our way.
Below Are Five Suggestions For Doing Your Part To Help Us Come Together As A Majority Of One:
1.) Look For And Yield To God’s Will! This means letting go and laying your will aside, so that you can pick up God’s perfect will as your guiding light and purpose in life.
2.) Deal With Your Own Challenges And Sins! My Grandmother used to say: Sweep off your own porch, before you start trying to sweep off someone else’s.” The truth is that we all have our on battles to fight and once we fight and find victory in ours, then we just might be ready to help others with there’s, not because we are better, but because we are learning.
3.) Practice Humility! If you really want to get good at something, then you need to practice all the time, over and over again. We need to practice humility, because just when we think we’ve got it, we usually get proud of ourselves and blow it!
4.) Be An Encouragement! Everyone needs some more positivity and less negativity in their lives, so why not start with yourself. If you will start, then you might encourage others along the way and at some point you will need someone to encourage you.
5.) Embrace Reconciliation! To reconcile is to become one, regardless of our differences. The truth is: What unites us (JESUS) is stronger than anything that can divide us.
I encourage you to do your part and promise that I will be trying to do mine!
Michael Joe Harvell 