This life is just a little stop in the road on my way to Heaven…
So much of our popular culture tells us to seize the day and live our life to the fullest.
Songs and films and literature and even art is focused on people wanting to get the maximum out of this life. And the maximum looks like money and fame and fortune and friends. It looks like being surrounded with beautiful people and beautiful things. We praise actors and actresses for their physical beauty without any thought at all for their personal lives – which are often (though not always) terrible and messy and immoral. We ready newspaper articles and magazine articles about people being rich and successful.
There are hundreds – if not thousands – of self-help books and articles about how to get more out of life, whether it be more influence, more wealth, more time and youthful appearance, more health, or any number of other more-things…
And I was thinking about this today. You see, I wanted more for my life as well. I wanted more children. I always thought I would have more than three children. And for many years I tried to make that happen and I was terribly sad that it did not happen for me. And I would think to myself, but I only have this one life, I really need to make the most of it. And it was not even a very original concept. After all the concept of seizing the day or “carpe diem” as it is called in Latin, originated in ancient times when people felt that they should be able to get away with pretty much anything if it resulted in a better outcome for them in this life…
The same idea was continued in the Renaissance, the Italian politician and philosopher, Machiavelli, who considered that any action was justifiable if it helped him to achieve his ends.
And I have been thinking about why all of this is wrong. You see, the whole notion of seizing the day or the end justifying the means is flawed because it makes the assumption that this life is the end – or the ONE life – that we get access to.
And this is completely incorrect.
In fact, this life is not the end at all. This life is just the first and shortest of our lives. The life to come is the ACTUAL life we should be aiming for.
And when I think about it like that, it does not seem a very bad thing that I had no more children than my three. It does not seem a very bad idea that I do not get certain things that I would like to get. Instead, it seems a wonderful thing that I am able to want what God wants for me. After all, this is not my ONE life or my ONE chance – it is just a little stop in the road on my way to Heaven…
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.
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