Mar 07

The One Thing Never To Avoid!

Elijah Flower

Do you have a list of things you try to avoid? We usually want to avoid things that are bad for us. Even though I enjoy a lot of things that are bad for me, I still maintain a list of ‘avoidables’.  I try to avoid most of the usual enemies of happiness and long life: unhealthy foods, dangerous activities, uncomfortable situations, negative people and harmful influences, to name a few.

My list of avoidables grew larger with the help of Elijah. He was so committed to avoiding unhealthy foods that he would eat carrots and celery as snacks. I teased him that one day he would only need to be watered like a plant. He had committed to avoiding sugar in his diet, and wanted me to do the same. I was supportive, but I kept telling him that it was impossible to completely avoid sugar.

He didn’t stop there, though. He wouldn’t eat anything that had certain additives, like xanthan gum. I was shocked at how many foods had that in it. I probably would never have noticed, except that Elijah would make me read the ingredients on the packaging labels. As a prank, I was planning to give him a fake package of xanthan chewing gum for Christmas. I didn’t get the chance.

So as I was thinking about the things to avoid, I also got to thinking about the things not to be avoided. These are the things that are good for us. You may have a list of some of those things, too. But I wonder if you’ve ever thought about the most important thing never to avoid.

Start by thinking of the most important thing to you. For me, it’s the hope of eternal life with God in heaven. Happily for all of us, God made that a possibility. But it’s not about getting the golden ticket. It’s about having a relationship with God. And even though our behavior kept us from that relationship, God did the hard work of reconciling us back to him. “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their sins against them… we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Corinthians 5:19, 20)

Unfortunately, I disappoint God on a regular basis. But the most important thing I ever learned is this: it’s no longer my sins that trouble God, but rather when I let my guilt and shame keep me from Him. And the longer I stay away from Him, the easier it is to sin. The result is even more guilt and shame. So to avoid that downward death spiral, I have to constantly give everything up to him and ask His forgiveness.

The one thing to never avoid is being reconciled to God.

During his last month with us, Elijah sent the following text to his girlfriend, Madison. He wrote:

Pray and give it all up to God. He will help you I promise. But you have to be willing to ask for forgiveness and apologize for not believing in him and for forgiveness of your sins.

Elijah was good at avoiding unhealthy things, but I’m at peace knowing that he truly understood what was the one thing to never avoid. He knew how important it was to be reconciled with God. And he was especially good at running back to God and giving everything up to Him.

Elijah wanted to reach millions with that message. It’s as though he was echoing the words from 2 Corinthians: I beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God!

 

Please ‘like’ and ‘share’ this post as you find it helpful and inspiring. Thank you.

-Ken Buchanan

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Mar 05

Wait, Where’s the Undo Button?

Elijah Cream of Wheat

What did we ever do before there was the ‘undo’ button? Those of us who grew up with vinyl records were thrilled when we could use the ‘rewind’ button when listening to tapes. Now that’s all ancient technology. But the ‘undo’ button goes way beyond the ability to rewind. Not only do we get to recover from our mistakes and our bad decisions. We actually get to choose a whole new direction. The ‘undo’ button gives us endless opportunities for a do-over.

If you are like me, you probably wish there was some sort of ‘undo’ button for our lives. I think about that every day. The first thing I’d do would be to undo the loss of our dear Elijah. So far no one has invented an ‘undo’ button that reverses time itself. Despite the occasional Hollywood movie that fantasizes about going back in time, God has not yet given us the ability to step out of the normal flow of events.

But wait! There really is such thing as an ‘undo’ button for our lives. While we cannot undo physical events and reverse time, there is something much more significant that we have the power to undo.

We have the power to undo the mistakes in our relationships. That includes our relationship with God.

Pressing the ‘undo’ button in our relationships is like repenting and asking for forgiveness. How many of our broken relationships have led to physical events that we wish we could ‘undo’? If only we could have fixed the relationships in the first place.

Repenting and asking for forgiveness are two important mechanical parts of our ‘undo’ button. But to make it all work, we need the third part. The person who is asked needs to grant forgiveness. I’m not sure which is the hardest part sometimes: humbling ourselves and asking for forgiveness, or granting it when we’ve been the one who was hurt. In any case, the ‘undo’ button only works when all the parts are functioning together.

I’m reminded of when Peter asked Jesus about the ‘undo’ button. I think he had the concept of a portable, battery operated device. “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matthew 18:21). Fortunately for us, Jesus only allows us to use the unlimited version. He replied, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (v22).

Melanie just came across the following note that Elijah wrote to me a few years ago. I’ve transcribed part of it here, and provided a picture of what was a full page handwritten note. It’s the best example of an ‘undo’ button I could think of. While I cannot ‘undo’ his loss, I take deep comfort in knowing that he had a very well-used ‘undo’ button. That was especially evident when it came to his relationship with our Lord.

Dear Dad

I know that what I did was terrible and wrong in so many ways. There is no excuse for what I did and I wish that I could of taken it back. I’m very sorry for using that language and I know that it is not something god would of wanted me to do. I am looking forward to reading the bible with you and talking to you about changing my perspective on life. I want to change the way I’m living and I want to give my heart to the Lord. My goal from today is to stay completely out of trouble and every day of my life I am going to look for ways to make people happy and give compliments to make people feel great…

Love Elijah

Elijah Apology Note

Please ‘like’ and ‘share’ this post as you find it helpful and inspiring. Thank you.

-Ken Buchanan

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Mar 04

I Feel Your Pain!

 

Cloud over burial (2)

This is not your ordinary skyline picture. For our family, it represents one of the most painful moments in our lives.

This picture was taken during the fourth of five major pain milestones in the loss of our teenage son, Elijah. Some of you reading this will identify with those milestones. Some will be better prepared to handle them should they eventually happen in your own life.

The first pain milestone was when we initially learned of Elijah’s death. Words cannot describe the horror of the experience.The second was at the wake, the third at the funeral, the fourth graveside, and the fifth was returning to an emptier home.

After two weeks of wondering, we were told by police in mid-December that Elijah had not survived his journey through the frigid woods. I don’t recall seeing the sun during the following gloomy week, and the graveside ceremony was as gloomy as ever. That is, with one momentary exception. We pulled our cameras out to take this picture as the sun poked through the gray sky for only a few seconds.

By that point we were all longing for a message of comfort. The sun provided a brief reminder that our days would not always feel cold and gloomy. Just when we think the pain will crush us, God intervenes. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18).

Well, we seem to be surviving beyond the five milestones of pain. But I was totally caught off guard by a sixth milestone. I wasn’t prepared for the need to identify with Elijah’s suffering. I already dislike cold weather. Those who know me would say that’s an understatement! Lately, however, I cry just thinking about the cold. So how can I explain my need to occasionally be alone in the cold until I hurt so badly I have to retreat indoors to the warmth. I was surprised to learn that I wasn’t the only one doing this. My daughter Tina and Elijah’s girlfriend Madison have each been doing the same thing.

I suppose it boils down to the difference between sympathy and empathy. In sympathy we say that we are sorry for your pain. In empathy we say that we feel your pain. For those we love, sympathy is just not enough. For those we truly love, we would do almost anything to relieve their pain. For those we love the most, we would even trade places in order to take their pain away.

I’m reminded of this popular verse from the Bible: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16). It wasn’t enough for God to see my pain. It wasn’t even enough for God to experience my pain. He actually traded places so that he would take away my pain forever.

When we hurt, we are drawn to others who know just how badly we feel. We are comforted in part by knowing that they can feel our pain. But there is one who goes beyond empathy. He actually takes away our pain.

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” (1 Peter 5:10).

Our family was thankful for that little glimpse of sunlight on a cold and gloomy day at the grave of our dear Elijah. It was a perfect reminder that God Himself will rescue us from our sorrows. He alone can fully restore our broken hearts. And yes, He can feel our pain.

 

Please ‘like’ and ‘share’ this post as you find it helpful and inspiring. Thank you.

-Ken Buchanan

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Mar 01

What Do You Fear the Most?

Elijah Scary Face

We all have things we’re afraid of. Your list will be different than my list, but most of us can easily name things we fear the most. In general terms, we fear such things as illness, pain, death, financial ruin, personal failure and loneliness. For the sake of simplicity I’ll call those human fears.

Human fears come in lots of shapes and sizes. Have you ever wondered what they all have in common? It seems to me that every fear boils down to a ‘fear of loss’. With illness, we fear losing the certainty of our health. With pain, we fear losing our comfort. With failure, we fear losing our security and esteem. With death, we fear losing what we know about life for what we don’t know about life after death.

As humans, we spend our lives accumulating things that we value. Once we have our things, we spend our time and resources protecting those things against loss. We naturally want to hold onto our things. When we do lose something, we grieve the loss. And those losses can be actual or imagined, experienced or only threatened, individual or generational. But the grief is always real.

Grieving hurts. And the greater the loss, the more painful the grieving. I know that all too well after the devastating loss of our son, Elijah. I never used to fear losing a child. So how do I avoid the debilitating fear of losing any more of my children?

What if there was a type of fear that actually brought to us things that we otherwise are afraid of losing. What if this fear could bring us life and the enjoyment of healthy living? What if it could bring us success and the respect of those around us? And why not also throw in financial wealth and a rich family experience?

The Bible tells us, “Humility and the fear of the Lord bring wealth and honor and life” (Proverbs 22:4).

At first that doesn’t seem to make sense. But the fear of the Lord is the opposite of human fears. I like to think of the fear of the Lord as “the total surrender of everything in obedience to the Lord.” Rather than try to hold onto everything, we are supposed to let go of everything. Only then do we find that God gives us in abundance what we voluntarily surrendered.

If you think about it, those of us who already surrendered our lives to God in Christ have died to everything anyway. There is really no need to try to hold onto anything. We’ve already died to all of it. “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:2-3).

So human fear is based on avoiding loss. Our tendency is to hold onto everything. But the fear of the Lord is a celebration of loss. In the Lord we have already surrendered everything. That includes our family members. For me that includes Elijah. Ironically, surrendering to the Lord is the only way to ensure that we will actually receive everything we ever wanted. Whether now or into eternity, God promises to turn our losses into gain.

In the most positive sense, God wants us to be Losers! The next time someone calls me a Loser, I’m going to smile and say, “Thank you! I hope you are too.”

 

Please ‘like’ and ‘share’ this post as you find it helpful and inspiring. Thank you.

-Ken Buchanan

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Feb 28

What goes up…

Between the Clouds

What goes up must come down. It’s all about gravity. And gravity is one of those laws of nature that’s simply undeniable. Trying to defy gravity usually results in a painful lesson. No matter how hard we work to elevate ourselves, gravity will always try to bring us back down.

I was thinking about this during a recent flight as I took this picture from my window seat. There is something humbling about being elevated to a height where you get a glimpse of the splendor and beauty of both the earth and the sky. It became obvious to me that I could never experience this view without help from something or someone. The laws of nature prevent me from reaching this height on my own. Those same laws of nature would also soon bring me back down to earth. Literally and figuratively.

And that made me think about something Jesus said: “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 14:11).

Jesus was speaking about a wedding feast where he warns about taking a place of honor at the table. He said it would be humiliating to be escorted to the last place at the table, especially in front of all the guests. Better to humble yourself and take the last place on your own. The host may then honor you by moving you to a higher place.
Elijah at the wedding tableAs I thought about this, I thought about our son, Elijah. He was always doing things to make us laugh, and one of our cherished memories was from his sister Tina’s wedding. A table of honor had been prepared for the bride and groom at the reception. While Tina was seated in her throne-like chair waiting for her husband Chris to join her, Elijah sat down in the empty chair. He acted as though the place of honor had been meant for him.

Elijah was momentarily defying gravity. That’s how he lived his life. We all laughed because we knew how out of character it really was for Elijah. He was such a sweet young man that no one could imagine taking him seriously. And I even imagine the laughter in heaven as he does the same thing at the great feast. Who else could pull that off?

I love passing along the things that Elijah wrote because they are such great reminders of things that are important. He wrote, “my assumptions of life which came about from my inflated ego all started ultimately from refusing to submit myself to God.” He understood the importance of humbling ourselves and elevating God. “God is the one who created you, and the glory needs to go to Him” (Elijah 2014).

The laws of pride and humility are even more certain than the laws of nature. If we attempt to elevate ourselves, we will be forced to learn humility. If we humble ourselves, God himself will elevate us.

What goes up must come down. That’s true physically and spiritually. But in addition to the physical laws of nature, God gives us a marvelous spiritual law: What goes down must come up!

 

Please ‘like’ and ‘share’ this post as you find it helpful and inspiring. Thank you.

-Ken Buchanan

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Feb 25

Where Do You Find Your Happy Place?

 

Deer Backyard

What do you do when bad things happen? More specifically, when bad things happen, where do you find your happy place?

Admittedly, bad things come in all shapes and sizes. They almost always surprise us, and they are never pleasant. That’s why we call them ‘bad things’. When the bad things are not too bad, we can simply force ourselves to think about good things that make us happy. We can lift our spirits by thinking of some of our favorite things. Just like the song from The Sound of Music about My Favorite Things:

When the dog bites, when the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad

Dog bites and bee stings may require a simple bandage, and our favorite things can often cheer us up. But sometimes the bad things create in us very deep wounds. Sometimes the bad things have no equivalent good things that we can turn to for emotional relief. So what do we do?

The picture I included with this post was from my back yard this past week. It contains one of my favorite things: deer walking peacefully in their natural surroundings. But it also contains two things I have recently considered bad. Ever since we lost our son Elijah to hypothermia in those woods behind our home, I have hated cold weather and the very woods that we used to enjoy together.

For two weeks we did not know where Elijah was. For two weeks, his body lay in those woods, exposed to the weather and the animals. When I feel cold temperatures, I am easily brought to tears thinking of Elijah exposed to the freezing cold. And I cannot bring myself to visit the place in the woods where he perished. How will I ever find a happy place when confronted with such a bad place?

As it turns out, there is a happy place big enough to handle the awfulness of those bad things.

My wife Melanie helped me to understand that the place where Elijah rested was a place of God’s protection. I know that sounds odd. But when we were informed by police of Elijah’s death, we were also told that he was perfectly preserved. No animals had touched him. His body had not decayed. Melanie had a vision that God’s angels stood guard over that place. It was a place where God met Elijah to carry him to his eternal home in heaven. Rather than a horrible place, it is actually a holy place.

As Moses was confronted with God’s presence in the wilderness, he experienced what it was like to be in a holy place. “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5). I suppose it’s ironic that Elijah’s feet were also bare.

How can we turn a bad thing into a happy thing? Recognize God’s presence in the midst of the bad things. In His presence is protection. In Him we can see triumph in our tragedy. We can know rest when otherwise we feel overwhelmed with pain and sorrow.

“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.” (Psalm 90:1)

So rather than trying to find our Happy Place, perhaps we should consider looking instead for the Holy Place. It’s big enough and wonderful enough to handle even the worst of the bad things.

Please ‘like’ and ‘share’ this post as you find it helpful and inspiring. Thank you.

-Ken Buchanan

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Feb 24

Could This Happen to Me?

Why Die Sign

Have you ever seen a sign that asked the question, “Why Die?” For nearly four decades, South Dakota has been placing these signs near the sites of roadside fatalities. I passed one of these signs on the very day of our son’s funeral near the border between South Dakota and Minnesota. My first thought was, “That’s not the sign I want to see right now.” But my second thought was, “Do any of us really have a choice?”

Why die? The question leaves the impression that death is an option. As though it’s something we can avoid. I always thought death was pretty inevitable. I suppose my problem is not with the sign but with our abbreviated language. The sign is really asking, “Why die now simply because you are not paying attention to the things that are most important?” But that would not fit on the sign. And reading that much text while driving might actually cause an accident.

The sign is designed to make us think. We are forced to realize that someone died at the very same place where we are at that moment, probably doing the same thing we are doing. So we take time to consider our own mortality. We ask ourselves, “Could this happen to me?”

I think the sign should actually read, “Why Not Take Your Life More Seriously?” Better yet, “Why Not Live Your Life On Purpose?”

We don’t know how many days we have left to live the life we have been given. My father-in-law will soon celebrate his 96th birthday. Yet my son left us after just turning 19. We can’t make sense of why some of us have fewer days than others. But every one of us can look to each new day as though it might be our last. I doubt that any of us has been guaranteed today, much less tomorrow.

Psalm 90:12 reminds us to take advantage of each day we’ve been given. “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.“

A heart of wisdom is the reward for taking advantage of each day to the fullest. Elijah’s last notes included this word of encouragement: “Follow your dreams and passions and don’t sit around living someone else’s life” (Elijah 2014). 

Now when I see those signs in South Dakota, I will think of Elijah and imagine that the sign says, “Why Not Live?”

 

Please ‘like’ and ‘share’ this post as you find it helpful and inspiring. Thank you.

-Ken Buchanan

Feb 22

Where Do I Go to Find Comfort?

Elijah Finding Comfort

Pain and comfort are at opposite extremes. Lingering in either place too long can be destructive to our bodies as well as our souls.

If you enjoy exercise and working out, you know what it’s like to go through short-term pain in order to gain long-term comfort. But no one wants to endure unrelenting pain. I am a survivor of two kidney stones. Those of us in that elite club of ‘stoners’ know the torture of unrelenting pain. I could never compare the pain to childbirth, but at least we expect the end result of that experience to be a wonderful new baby.

While kidney stone pain can quickly hit a level ten on the pain chart, the worst aspect is that the pain can last for hours without a moment of relief. The experience reminds me of living through our Minnesota winters! We can endure periods of extreme cold, but why do winters have to last 8 months? But as bad as those pain experiences may be, they can’t compare to the unrelenting pain of losing a loved one. It’s a permanent pain that never actually goes away.

The loss of our son Elijah has led me to ask more than once, “Where do I go to find comfort?” I observe that all living things naturally seek comfort. Cats have elevated comfort-seeking to an art. So why is it so hard to find comfort when we are thrust into situations of intense pain and discomfort?

Rick Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, experienced the tragic loss of their young son. He found great comfort in the following verse of scripture:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

We find that God is our ultimate comforter, no matter what our trouble or pain. But we are never comforted just to be comfortable. We are comforted so that we will know how to comfort others. I find great hope and purpose in that truth.

It reminds me of a conversation I had with God when our kids were younger. We had traveled as a family to Daytona Beach for Spring Break, but the weather was chilly. As a Minnesotan, I was determined to enjoy whatever sun and warmth I could get. I was the only person poolside, and I’m sure everyone thought I was out of my mind. As I lay on my lounge chair shivering, I found brief moments of relief from the wind and the clouds whenever the sun would break through. But as quickly as the sun would warm me, a cloud would cover it. Without the sun, the breeze would chill me to the bone. I would look to the sky to time my periods of relief when I could see that the clouds would unveil the sun.

I began to complain to God. I knew that the name ‘Holy Spirit’ meant holy pneuma, or holy wind. And I knew that Jesus described the Holy Spirit as our Comforter. So I challenged God, saying, “You’re supposed to be The Comforter, but your Holy Wind is making me very uncomfortable!” I wasn’t prepared for a response from God, but I can never forget what I heard at that very moment. I heard, “Yes, I am The Comforter. But my job is not to make you comfortable. My job is to increase your desire for The Son!”

Needless to say, I stopped complaining. And the best I can do in times of pain and trouble is to point people to The Son.

 

Please ‘like’ and ‘share’ this post as you find it helpful and inspiring. Thank you.

-Ken Buchanan

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Feb 21

Sometimes You’ve Just Gotta Laugh!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Laughter is the best medicine. We’ve all heard that before. And if you think about it, medicine is not something we normally enjoy. Mary Poppins sang about taking our medicine with a spoon full of sugar to help it go down. At least if laughter is a medicine, it doesn’t need sugar to make it pleasant. I’ll call that a win-win:  it’s apparently the ‘best’ medicine, and we really enjoy taking it.

So, what exactly does this ‘laughter medicine’ treat?  I think grief has to be at the top of the list. The losses in our lives lead us to various levels of grief. Our family is going through what seems like the deepest level of grief I can imagine: losing our teenager, Elijah. The daily pain is sometimes unbearable. I don’t expect the pain to ever go away.

But no matter what the causes of grief in our lives, we should never avoid going through the grieving process. We need to cry. Even when it seems like we are walking through Hell itself. I heard Ed Silvoso, founder of Harvest Evangelism, say recently:  “If you find yourself going through Hell, don’t stop! By all means, keep on walking. Eventually you’ll get through it.” Even King David experienced what it was like to walk through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23).

So even though our hearts feel crushed, we keep looking for joy to be a comfort to us. “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” (Proverbs 17:22).  There you have it. Laughter is indeed good medicine.

Laughter won’t eliminate the pain or fear we feel, but it will definitely help us move beyond those things.  And how can we not laugh at the irony we sometimes experience in life. This week I visited our cousin, Dr. H. Norman Wright, in Dallas. We had planned to have dinner together and talk about my recent family trauma.  Norman was leading a seminar and invited me to join the session right before dinner. I entered the meeting room to discover I was seated with several hundred grief counselors. The title of the session was printed on the handouts: “How to Respond to Times of Sudden Death, Complicated Grieving and Trauma Experiences.” That was worth a smile. How ironic! But I literally laughed when Norman put us together in small groups to discuss a grief counseling session to deal with the loss of a loved one. Sometimes you’ve just gotta laugh!

The losses in life almost always surprise us. We can never be certain of what will be our next great challenge. But laughter is definitely a medicine that will help us to endure the pain. A cheerful heart can help us face our fears. That’s why I love the following quote:

“I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I’ll go to it laughing.” (Herman Melville, Moby-Dick). 

 

Please ‘like’ and ‘share’ this post as you find it helpful and inspiring. Thank you.

-Ken Buchanan

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Feb 19

It’s Not What You Know…

Ellie praying

We’ve heard the saying many times before: It’s not WHAT you know, it’s WHO you know. I always thought of that in negative terms. But there’s truth in that saying that will change our lives. Forever.

I consider the accumulation of knowledge to be a very good thing. In fact, learning never stops with formal schooling. We are always learning. Whether on a personal level or professional level, we manage to survive and move ahead in life largely based on what we know.

But it isn’t enough just to know a lot of things. We are also measured by what we’ve accomplished. Turning knowledge into productivity is what allows us to become successful. A college graduate cannot create a successful resume’ if it only contains things they know. Employers want evidence of accomplishment.

The essential ingredients to getting ahead are a combination of what you know and what you’ve done. So it seems like cheating when we are able to get ahead in life because we are lucky enough to know the right people in the right places. How can someone get ahead without knowledge and hard work? Can they bypass the system just because they were good friends with the boss? It just isn’t fair.

That’s life as we know it. We are performance oriented. We are supposed to earn our way to success. Shortcuts are not honorable. So it is no surprise that we carry over those same perspectives into our spiritual life. It’s easy for us to imagine that God values our extensive knowledge and our great accomplishments. It’s as though we are creating a spiritual resume’. Our tendency is to try to please God by learning enough and doing enough to impress Him.

Meanwhile, God waits for us to slow down and simply enjoy his presence. He wants us to fall in love with Him. He wants us to know him.

Jesus spoke about this very issue. He said, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’” (Matthew 7:22). What an impressive spiritual resume’! They knew what to do, how to do it, and even had a nice list of accomplishments to brag about. Surely Jesus would be pleased.

But the response by Jesus is shocking. “Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (v23).  He not only ripped up the resume’ and kicked them out the door, but he called them evil. That goes down as the worst job interview of all time! How could they get it so wrong?

It turns out that they missed the thing that was of first importance. They lost track of the ‘why’ of what they were doing. It wasn’t about what they knew. It wasn’t about what they did. It was supposed to be about who they knew. And apparently Jesus did not know them in personal terms.

Of all the things we could do in life, spending time with God should be the most important. Isn’t that what we are supposed to teach our children? So you can imagine how thrilled I am to hold onto one of the last messages that Elijah texted to me before he died:

“I spend tons of time talking to God before going to bed.” (Elijah 2014)

Well done, Elijah. And thanks for the reminder of what’s most important.

 

Please ‘like’ and ‘share’ this post as you find it helpful and inspiring. Thank you.

-Ken Buchanan

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