I don't want to try and pass this off as my own wisdom... :) That would never work! This was sent from a friend whose wife is struggling with cancer. It is portions of an interview with the well known author, Rick Warren, who wrote The Purpose Driven Life. I have added the bold for emphasis on what really jumped out at me...
"People ask me, What is the purpose of life? And I respond: In a nutshell, life is preparation for eternity. We were not made to last forever, and God wants us to be with Him in Heaven.
One day my heart is going to stop, and that will be the end of my body... but not the end of me.
I may live 60-100 years on earth, but I am going to spend trillions of years in eternity. This is the warm-up-act - the dress rehearsal. God wants us to practice on earth what we will do forever in eternity.
We were made by God and for God, and until you figure that out, life isn't going to make sense.
Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy.
We can be reasonably happy here on earth, but that's not the goal of life. The goal is to grow in character, in Christ likeness.
This past year has been the greatest year of my life but also the toughest, with my wife, Kay, getting cancer. I used to think that life was hills and valleys - you go through a dark time, then you go to the mountaintop. I don't believe that anymore.
Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it's kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for. You can focus on your purposes, or you can focus on your problems.
If you focus on your problems, you're going into self-centeredness, which is my problem, my issues, my pain. But one of the easiest ways to get rid of pain is to get your focus off yourself and onto God and others.
We need to ask ourselves: Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism? Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?
When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do. That's why we are called human beings, not human doings.
Happy moments - Praise God.
Difficult moments - seek God.
Quiet moments - Worship God.
Painful moments - trust God.
Every moment - Thank God.
I haven't read his book yet, but this interview and the outlook that he has on life sure makes me want to pick it up :)
Praise the LORD that He loves us enough to work in us daily, transforming us into the image of Jesus; through many trials, hardships, and persecutions... which will bring us to completion in Him at that Day and for all eternity. Now that is true love!!!!
Great post. Remember also when the time comes for you to raise little ones, that God is more interested in their character than their comfort as well. I say that because on the news yesterday they were having interviews with parents that are spending more money on christmas than they can afford, just to keep the bad news of the economy from them. They are much more interested in their comfort and pleasure than reality and character. Love you, Lynn
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