Living in the Promise Land

I’m not the biggest fan of Chinese Philosophy…not that there is a ton wrong with it…I’m just more of a Greek guy myself. Every once in a while I stumble over into the Chinese Philosophers and pay them a little bit of attention. There is a desire early in life to want to change the world…one of the reasons I love working with teens. Most people realize at some point that changing the world is a pretty overwhelming task so they settle for simply living life. What does this have to do with Chinese Philosophers? Nothing really except that I re-stumbled across a quote from Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC).

“To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.”

Gandhi said it in another way, “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” but I would like to focus on one area of what Confucius said. To get the family in order you must get yourself in order. To get yourself in order you must get your heart right. It seems as though that focusing on family helps change the world. Centering on family you find foundation for growing your heart and for developing yourself.

When Israel was about to enter the promise land, God saw the struggle of keep their hearts on Him standing in front of them. Deuteronomy 6:10-12 reads, “When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

When you live in a land that doesn’t promote depending on Him, God warns them to be careful to not forget Him. How are we to not forget God living in the land that we live where we don’t have much dependence on Him for our daily life? God sets an order in place so that His people will stay faithful to Him in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

What can change in your family this year that will help you change the world?

Epitaph

If you had one last thing to say, what would it be? What would you want to stick with you in the minds of every person that speaks of your name? Every time you’re visited you repeat simple words for them to remember…what would they be? What would your epitaph say?

Living on the east coast there are a lot of cemeteries with some really old graves in them. I don’t do this often but I’ve walked through a graveyard looking at different headstones, imagining the life that they lived. Every once in a while you find someone with a meaningful story. Someone took the time to tell their story because their life had great meaning. I am amazed by this. Have you ever thought about what you would like your epitaph to say? If you looked at your life right now, what would it say? With the start of the New Year I contemplate this more and more.

I have a deep appreciation for Saint Patrick. He felt God’s calling, dropped everything, followed it, and died with a great epitaph on the breastplate on his tomb. It reads:

Christ be with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ on my right
Christ on my left
Christ where I lie
Christ where I sit
Christ where I arise
Christ in the heart of every man
who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of every man
who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me
Salvation is of the Lord.

When I die, I want everyone to understand that in all areas of my life, Christ was there. Now…I need to examine what needs to happen in order for Christ to be where He belongs.