With the election season in full bloom, it seems that banners and campaign slogans are sprouting up on every lawn of every major street in Humboldt County. Of course, they vary from year to year but they all carry the same basic message. “Vote for me, I'll bring needed change, I'll make a difference, I'll make a lasting impact, I'll get the job done, etc.”
These of course, are honorable goals and worthy of admiration, but we only accept these ambitious statements as part of a political framework and don't necessarily believe that they will be fulfilled as promised. Indeed, it does seem impossible to produce a measurable impact in the political climate in which we live, and since the vast majority of us will never run for office, on any level, it seems even less likely that our lives could be used to make a difference in the world in which we live.
We all hope to some degree that in the future, our lives will have meant something to someone, but as time inevitably slips by and we begin to evaluate what we've been able to accomplish, often a bleak and somewhat empty picture is unveiled and we ask ourselves, “Have I made a difference with the time given to me? Has the world benefitted from my contribution?” Sure, wasting time as a teenager is almost an adventure, a dedicated pastime or hobby pursued well into adulthood, but when the bells begin to toll, time wasting becomes a tragedy.
Spinning around in circles, going nowhere
in life, and then coming to the realization of just how painfully short life is can be a staggering revelation. One writer puts it this way: “Wheels within wheels in a spiral array, a pattern so grand and complex. Time after time, we lose sight of the way, our causes can't see their effects” (from the song “Natural Science” by the group Rush).
The Bible says that we are but a vapor that appears for a short time and then vanishes, a flower which blooms and then withers away. What are we doing with the time God has given us? The apostle Paul wrote, “Each one's work will become clear; for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is” (1 Corinthians 13:13). Paul was referring to the good works that we do, which only build upon the foundation that Jesus Christ has already laid.
Obviously, there is no work that we can do to gain righteous standing before God, but once we are placed upon that foundation, our lives are to become a living sacrifice. This is reasonable and logical, based on what he has already done for us. But oh, the time we waste, trying to crawl off that altar to pursue our selfish agendas.
There is no doubt that God can use our lives to make a difference, a lasting impact and to bring change, but only if we yield ourselves to him, in the pursuit of his good and perfect will. Everything that is done in accordance with his will and for his glory has eternal weight. It is made of gold and silver, not wood, hay and stubble.
