Stay on the Path
One of the hardest things I've ever done was make the decision not to go back to my old way of life. I struggled long and hard to combat the ways that I had followed for so long. The world had it's grip and was not going to let go so easily.
We can come up with all kinds of reasons and excuses for why it's ok to continue living in the ways of the world. But Christ says, "No one who puts their hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom." Once we start on this path we cannot turn back. There is no compromising. It's all or nothing.
I can tell you from personal experience that all the beauty of the body can be gone in a matter of weeks. I used to spend a lot of time making sure everything about me was close to perfection. I worked out at the health club, ate healthy, wore nice clothes and fine jewelry and spent at least $100.00 a month just on my hair and nails. I did all the things that the world says are necessary for living up to the image of a beautiful person. Yet within a month after starting chemotherapy treatments I was down to 79 lbs and looked like I should be on a poster for feed the hungry. When my beautiful hair started to fall out, I just went to a hair salon and asked them to cut it all off. I cried as I watched it fall to the floor.
If this isn't a dose of reality, I don't know what is. Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.
It will all go! Don't think for a second that we can hold on to any of it. The reality is, we are not in control of our physical lives. I had never been sick in my life. There is absolutely no reason for me to have a terminal illness at this age. Yet, it is my destiny, so to speak. The Lord handed me a chalice that said cancer and asked me to drink of it.
I am reminded of Christ's words before his own Passion, "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify thy name."
We all have our cups waiting for us. We can drink them willingly or we can fight to hold on to our worldly lives. But the Lord also has something to say about that. He says, "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." We cannot keep this temporal life. It's going to end someday. How often do we really think about this truth? How many times do we need to hear this before we finally start to believe it? If we want to keep our lives, we must chose to stay on the path. The road is narrow that leads to eternal life, but if we chose this road we won't need to be concerned with losing the superficial life that we've created for ourselves.
The Lord is kind and merciful and He will not leave us to drink our cup of suffering alone. The entrance to the Kingdom is through death and He has encountered and trampled death. He has prepared the way and shown us the path of life. Let's stay on the path that leads to the Kingdom.
We can come up with all kinds of reasons and excuses for why it's ok to continue living in the ways of the world. But Christ says, "No one who puts their hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom." Once we start on this path we cannot turn back. There is no compromising. It's all or nothing.
I can tell you from personal experience that all the beauty of the body can be gone in a matter of weeks. I used to spend a lot of time making sure everything about me was close to perfection. I worked out at the health club, ate healthy, wore nice clothes and fine jewelry and spent at least $100.00 a month just on my hair and nails. I did all the things that the world says are necessary for living up to the image of a beautiful person. Yet within a month after starting chemotherapy treatments I was down to 79 lbs and looked like I should be on a poster for feed the hungry. When my beautiful hair started to fall out, I just went to a hair salon and asked them to cut it all off. I cried as I watched it fall to the floor.
If this isn't a dose of reality, I don't know what is. Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.
It will all go! Don't think for a second that we can hold on to any of it. The reality is, we are not in control of our physical lives. I had never been sick in my life. There is absolutely no reason for me to have a terminal illness at this age. Yet, it is my destiny, so to speak. The Lord handed me a chalice that said cancer and asked me to drink of it.
I am reminded of Christ's words before his own Passion, "Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify thy name."
We all have our cups waiting for us. We can drink them willingly or we can fight to hold on to our worldly lives. But the Lord also has something to say about that. He says, "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." We cannot keep this temporal life. It's going to end someday. How often do we really think about this truth? How many times do we need to hear this before we finally start to believe it? If we want to keep our lives, we must chose to stay on the path. The road is narrow that leads to eternal life, but if we chose this road we won't need to be concerned with losing the superficial life that we've created for ourselves.
The Lord is kind and merciful and He will not leave us to drink our cup of suffering alone. The entrance to the Kingdom is through death and He has encountered and trampled death. He has prepared the way and shown us the path of life. Let's stay on the path that leads to the Kingdom.
posted by Laura | 5:41 PM
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