{"id":473,"date":"2013-07-02T09:30:11","date_gmt":"2013-07-02T09:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/onfire\/?p=473"},"modified":"2013-07-02T13:25:12","modified_gmt":"2013-07-02T13:25:12","slug":"one-thing-to-do-with-your-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/onfire\/2013\/07\/02\/one-thing-to-do-with-your-life\/","title":{"rendered":"One Thing to do with your life"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\"One<\/a>
One thing to do<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/span><\/span>Think about it:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0You didn\u2019t ask to be born.<\/span><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t know exactly<\/i><\/span> where you came from or where you\u2019re going\u2014if anywhere\u2014after you die. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Yet, you\u2019re here. Living in this place and time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0For a reason?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0You wonder, Who am I? and Why am I here?<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0It\u2019s disturbing. We didn\u2019t choose to be alive on planet earth. Yet we sense we have a purpose and are somehow accountable for it. We try to find our purpose and fulfill it. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0But suffering detours us. Destroys our plans. Crushes our hearts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cBe born. Procreate. Die.\u201d And, \u201cEat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die,\u201d mantras sound easy and\u2026logical. Perhaps we are<\/i><\/span> just a random set of molecules coming and going nowhere. Why not give up believing our lives have meaning? <\/span><\/p>\n

After all, none of this was up to us in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n

Stop and think about it:<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

What if you stay in the game and continue to pursue your purpose? What do you have to lose?<\/span><\/p>\n

What if you believe<\/span><\/p>\n

– God created you and placed you in the particular set of trials and joys that is your life<\/p>\n

– And you have a part to play in God\u2019s grand scheme of healing the earth?<\/p>\n

– Plus the trials you face can be grist for the mill of ensuring you stay on the path of your purpose? What if suffering can be remixed to purify and prepare you for your finest hour?<\/p>\n

If we believe, then we have one thing to do: we must choose who and what to commit to. And live from that commitment.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

A professor and social activist weigh in:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cJesus said, “Whoever seeks to find himself, will lose himself. But whosoever is willing to lose himself for My sake and the sake of the kingdom, will find himself.” \u2026 the self is not waiting to be discovered through introspection. The self is waiting to be created through commitment. Commitments define us. Commitments give each of us our identity. And if you have no commitments, you are, says T.S. Elliott, the hollow man, the empty man, the straw man blown to and fro by the wind.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

– Dr. Tony Campolo in his speech, \u201cCommitted to Hope.\u201d <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

“Skepticism is a good and healthy thing…Be skeptical and ask the hard, tough questions about our institutions–especially Washington and Wall Street. But cynicism is a spiritually dangerous thing<\/em> because it is a buffer against personal commitment. Becoming so cynical that we don’t believe any change is possible allows us to step back, protect ourselves, grab for more security, and avoid taking any risks. If things can’t change, why should I be the one to show courage, take chances, and make strong personal commitments?<\/p>\n

But\u00a0personal commitment\u00a0<\/i>is all that has ever changed the world, transformed human lives, and altered history. And if our cynicism prevents us from making courageous and committed personal choices and decisions, the hope for change will fade.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

– Jim Wallis, \u201cThe Post-Cynical Christian,\u201d HuffPost Religion, June 20, 2013<\/a><\/p>\n

Inspired by Campolo and Wallis, I grab my journal and title a fresh page: My Commitments<\/p>\n

I pray, \u201cGod, please show me. What am I to be committed to?\u201d\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Anxiety. Overwhelm. I read more from Wallis:<\/p>\n

“And this is where faith comes in. Hebrews 11:1 says it best, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” ..Hope means believing in spite of the evidence, then watching the evidence change. Faith enables us to act in hope, despite how things look, and that’s what can help make change finally occur and change how things look.”<\/p>\n

– Jim Wallis, “The Post-Cynical Christian,” HuffPost Religion, June 20, 2013<\/p>\n

Then I write:<\/i><\/p>\n

1. I\u2019m committed to you, Jesus, as my Vine (John 15), the source of my life.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a02. To people\u2014my family and all people everywhere. I\u2019m committed to loving them as You enable and direct me.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a03.\u00a0 <\/span>I\u2019m committed to the message that every person is called to play a part in God\u2019s story of redeeming the planet and it\u2019s people. I stand with you, Jesus, at the doors of peoples\u2019 hearts to coax them open. Open to You and the mission for which you\u2019ve created them.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a04. I\u2019m committed to my health\u2014physical, mental, spiritual. Because I am Your vessel.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u00a0– – – – –<\/i><\/p>\n

What about you\u2014what are your commitments?<\/p>\n

Will you set aside cynicism and stoke the fires of faith? Write down your commitments?<\/p>\n

Then,<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s live them.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0– – – – –<\/p>\n

photo credit: stock.xchange<\/p>\n

– – – – –<\/p>\n

Dear Reader, Thank you for visiting ON FIRE. If you are willing to share your commitments with me, I welcome reading them. My email is: Gloria@gloriarose.com.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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