Doing Life

Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can.

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can.

John Wesley                                                     

It's been a sad time. Two friends have passed away recently and it has caused me to reflect on life, and how we spend our lives.

There are those who wonder if life has been worth the effort. They focus on the "what-ifs" in their lives. What if I had done things differently? What if I had gone further in school? What if I had taken a particular job when I had the chance? What if I had dared to do something or go somewhere when it seemed to offer an opportunity? What if? What if?

The two friends I mentioned may have asked the question one or two times in their lives. Maybe more. But they did not FOCUS on the question. They seemed to reflect the words of Wesley and lived lives as best they could. Each of them, one way or another, influenced the lives they came in contact with.

They did not "cut notches in the stock of their Winchesters", keeping score of what they had done and how many people they brought into a relationship with Christ. Instead, they went through life living their faith and sharing their faith quietly in who they were and what they did. And if you were to ask them about something they had done or said, they might have shrugged their shoulders and asked, "Well, it isn't a question of why, it's a statement of why not?

One of the people who passed away had been an executive in a major Florida utility company. He could have sat back in his comfortable life and left life challenges to others. But he saw needs and people who were hurting and spent his life doing the best he could for every person he met. Not for his own sake but for the sake of Christ, asking himself, "What would Jesus do?" And trying his best to respond.

The other person was a pastor's wife. She was never in the forefront of the ministry of the church. But she was always there when there was a need and she conveyed a quiet and consistent faith that was contageous.

I hope you'll reflect upon John Wesley's words, perhaps asking yourself, "How do I measure up to Wesley's challenge?"

Oh, God in heaven:

Help me forget self and focus on

the needs around me

and equip me to do - to do - unto others.

AMEN