Ron and I had a long conversation last night about how to focus our lives in these upcoming months and years. What are our top goals? He has a sabbatical coming up in a year or two, and his opportunity throws into relief this soul-searching question.
He has several writing projects he is interested in. So do I. He has full professor status to reach toward.
As the conversation progressed, he spoke of the Early Church, and how the saints about whom we have record made their decisions. He said that the word "Martyr" comes from the Greek, meaning, "to witness." It has nothing to do with sacrifice or death, but with giving testimony that Jesus is Lord.
He said, "I do not really want to publish anything, even though I could and I should. What I'd really like to do is spend my time in prayer. Then, as those in my life have needs, to be a witness to them that Jesus is their answer."
Most people want some sort of significance. They want to powerfully assert themselves in the world. But I am deeply entrenched in this question: how do we get beyond our meager selves, and powerfully assert the One who deserves it? There is only one Person who will withstand the test of time, who, when the earth collapses and the universe dissolves, will still be there to tell the story. I think Ron is most certainly right: Jesus is the only one who should really be our focus, and who should really be our concern. All else passes: He endures.
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