Something to Live For
Famed explorer Ernest T. Shackleton was in his element as he shepherded twenty-seven men through two years of uncertainty, sleeping on ice flows, rowing long boats through treacherous ice pack, and finally camping on a wind-battered rock, after the sinking of the Endurance.
He spent the rest of his life looking for what he had during those two years- even attempting a return trip to Antarctica hoping to find it. Yet he couldn't put a finger on what exactly it was he wanted, and died of a heart attack in route.
For two years, there were twenty-seven men whose very lives depended on (among other things), Shackleton's selfless leadership. Shackleton had something to live for. People needed him. Shackleton had as his occupation, the sweet task of sustaining life.
I doubt there is any job on earth as satisfying as an act of sustaining life. When you sustain life, you are finally doing something really important, something that matters. You are needed.
If a person is needed, they have a well-defined purpose. If they are not needed, they become listless.
It's painful to see the number of Christian young people who feel listless. They have school, and friends, sports and music, and whatever else they can come up with to occupy their time- but without the richness of someone to care for, someone to give life to, they are just passing time.
A solution lies in the three areas the modern family finds burdensome: the elderly, the disabled, and the young.
While America has begun to open her arms toward the disabled, she routinely shelves her elderly, and tries to prevent the young before they come into existence. God designed for each of these groups to be an integral part of somebody's life, to need someone, to count on someone for their daily care, providing fulfillment, purpose, and an opportunity for responsibility and maturity.
For some teenagers, the person who should be needing them may be a lifeline. That sweet nurse at the assisted living center does not need another elderly parent to care for. The nurse has lots of people to care for. Who do our young people have, to care for?
He spent the rest of his life looking for what he had during those two years- even attempting a return trip to Antarctica hoping to find it. Yet he couldn't put a finger on what exactly it was he wanted, and died of a heart attack in route.
For two years, there were twenty-seven men whose very lives depended on (among other things), Shackleton's selfless leadership. Shackleton had something to live for. People needed him. Shackleton had as his occupation, the sweet task of sustaining life.
I doubt there is any job on earth as satisfying as an act of sustaining life. When you sustain life, you are finally doing something really important, something that matters. You are needed.
If a person is needed, they have a well-defined purpose. If they are not needed, they become listless.
It's painful to see the number of Christian young people who feel listless. They have school, and friends, sports and music, and whatever else they can come up with to occupy their time- but without the richness of someone to care for, someone to give life to, they are just passing time.
A solution lies in the three areas the modern family finds burdensome: the elderly, the disabled, and the young.
While America has begun to open her arms toward the disabled, she routinely shelves her elderly, and tries to prevent the young before they come into existence. God designed for each of these groups to be an integral part of somebody's life, to need someone, to count on someone for their daily care, providing fulfillment, purpose, and an opportunity for responsibility and maturity.
For some teenagers, the person who should be needing them may be a lifeline. That sweet nurse at the assisted living center does not need another elderly parent to care for. The nurse has lots of people to care for. Who do our young people have, to care for?
posted by 1of14 | 11:41 PM
2 Comments:
Hmm... good point!
It reminds me of the verse in Proverbs that says, "Where there is no vision,
the people perish..." (29:18)
I think there's all together too much encouragement to think of yourself, find yourself,
and follow YOUR dreams... That is sooo contradictory of scripture!
If you want to find joy, try serving others!
Thanks for the encouragement. I was having second thoughts about this post. It is true, isn't it?
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