Skip to main content

Today

I was driving home today when I suddenly thought I had forgotten my laptop at school. If only for a second, I panicked, thinking I would not be able to plan for classes coming next week. At the same time that I felt this, however, I also remembered something from the Bible I had read earlier this week. In Acts 16, one of the most important spokespeople for Jesus was a man named Paul. In this chapter, Paul was put in prison after ordering a spirit to leave a slave who earned money for her owners by telling the future.

In the night, however, God caused the doors of Paul's prison to open. At that moment, when the jailer woke to see the cell doors open, he drew his sword to commit suicide, thinking he had allowed the prisoners to escape. Paul, however, yelled at him not to harm himself, saying that everyone was still in their cells. The man rushed in, trembling and asking what he must do to be saved. Paul then shared the gospel, and the man and his family eventually believed.

While in my own moment of panic, I thought of the jailer at the moment he drew his sword to commit suicide. When compared with what this man was facing-- possible execution at having lost his prisoners-- my own concerns about forgetting my laptop seemed silly. Life is too fleeting to allow worry to control us. Life itself is a miracle, something I often take for granted. We are more than our jobs, more than our fears, more than our talents or pleasures or selfish acts. Our lives, without those things, matter enough to stop and breathe when we begin to worry about the little things. Life is certainly more important than a missing laptop, which was in my trunk, anyway.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ghosts

Exercising at a gym seems to be pretty important in our culture, but it's kind of weird to see the social dynamics when you're there. Usually, if you're running an errand, you see others doing the same thing, going about their days and focusing on what's in front of them. The same thing happens at the gym, only everyone is relatively stationary. They don't really go anywhere, except from one machine or area to another. One might think this lends itself to lots of interaction between members, especially since they're all there for the same purpose, but it isn't true. Not only do people generally avoid talking to one another, but they also avoid even looking at one another. It is as though there is no one else there, even though there are dozens on any given day. Most people follow this unwritten rule, unless something in the environment-- say, two people wanting to use the same set of weights-- gives them common ground to interact, or unless they've alr...
2 comments
Read more

End of an Era

It was over two years ago that I joined an experiment that would last until last July, an experiment that would significantly change me and the eleven others involved. That experiment was the creation of a new church comprised of twelve members whose purpose was to serve the people of downtown Stockton. Most attractive to me about it was that half of our income would be used in some way outside the church, to benefit the local community or to aid in international assistance. In that span of time, we did in fact serve in ways we'd envisioned. One of our first events was a pizza and school supplies giveaway (coupled with games for the kids who came) toward the end of our first summer. Many of those who came seemed genuinely happy at this. Through that year, we also hosted an event called a "card me house party," wherein each person's ticket to the event was a gift card. Once inside, chips could be purchased to play card and other games, with the resulting collection g...
1 comment
Read more

Pleasure

*Note: In the following post, I am heavily influenced by a pastor named Bob Shirock. Specifically, Shirock writes about Solomon's response to the pleasures he experienced in life in Ecclesiastes, and observes that we can enjoy pleasures in life if we accept them as God's gifts, and if we express our gratitude in their enjoyment. He cites Ecclesiastes 2:24-26 and 1 Timothy 4:1-5. I’ve noticed something about pleasure: the highs can be followed by lows. This sounds obvious, but what I mean is that times of joy and fun in life's pleasures are wonderful, and can lift your spirits for a time, but they can be followed by a disappointment that comes from the realization that they are short-lived and will not satisfy us in the long-term. I’m calling this a pleasure hangover. We gain happiness for a time, but see that this happiness is temporary. We therefore feel a subsequent low that leaves us still longing. It reminds me of a theme in the life of C.S. Lewis: sehnsucht , or a wist...
Post a Comment
Read more