Praise God for another full plate of unplanned opportunities and blessings. The number of pink unicorns that rear their head far exceeds anything I could have ever imagined. And the fact that the Holy Spirit loves me enough to equip us for the hunt and then lead us to their secret location in an effort to wash feet and equip our customer for victory, is absolutely knee buckling.
Earlier this week I was informed of a client’s passing. I have walked by his office only a thousand times, shouting pleasantries from the hall as I ran to my next appointment. The weight of missed windows to share the Gospel and do “life” was suppressed by the price of goods sold yet again. As the uninvited news entered my peripheral, another whisper reminded me of how many times I’ve failed to smell these eternal roses, what position my trust is actually in and at what costs I’ve continued to absorb and allow.
Mark 8 stands as a solid warning that the forfeiture of the soul is forever present and forever lurking, and from experience, forever perpetual. The missing link for me is a question of Who Jesus really is and a feeling of action in order to be counted. I have missed numerous lunch dates with my wife, taken hundreds of calls on Christmas day, been late to birthday parties, declined fishing trips with my dad, canceled meetings, failed to check on friends and the list goes on concerning living in exchange for doing business. And I am still guilty of hiding behind the so-called good in an effort to purchase some sort of heavenly currency as if my Creator did not know the difference.
I will never understand why Jesus does not do the same. I will never understand why He is always available amidst the millions of people who are more worthy than I, bidding for a piece of that space. I will never understand why His road leads to eternal life when I’m only worthy of the one that leads to eternal death. I will never understand why He willingly went to the cross and willingly took the nails destined for my wrists. And as I begin another day, prioritizing the cost of acting over the cost of life, a reminder from Peter that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God and in Him all things are found punctures the temporal leaving me on the edge of the seashore, knee deep in assurance, wondering why in the world would I need to go anywhere else.
