What's the Point?

"A man's greatest care should be for that place where he dwells longest; therefore eternity should be his scope."
~ Thomas Manton

I have to admit that one of my most oft asked questions in life is "What's the point?" It's the reason I frequently leave my bed unmade. What's the point? I'm just going to get back in it. It's the reason I rarely pay to have my car washed. What's the point? It's just going to rain again. It's the reason I rarely put makeup on when I'm home for the day. What's the point? I'm just going to have to wash it off. It's also the reason I nearly failed a leadership class with a syllabus full of busy work during my graduate studies. I had better things to do with my time - like skip class and strengthen the bonds of my friendship with Holly by watching Gilmore Girls. Laugh. You should. It's funny. But, it's also true. My friendship with Holly and the laughter we shared over that silly tv show brought me infinitely more joy than sitting in a class that rarely challenged me or provided me with any meaningful information. "What's the point?" is the reason I maintained a steady B+ average throughout school -- all 20 years of it! My mom always wondered what I could have done if I'd applied myself. I was too afraid of the fun and friends I might miss out on if I actually bothered to study very hard. Different priorities -- different "points." ;-)

Lately, I've been hearing a more serious "what's the point?" It comes in the midst of practicing any discipline. When the alarm goes off an hour early for a run ... when a friend calls with a juicy bit of gossip and I know I need to quell the conversation ... when that still small voice inside says it's time to turn the tv off in favor of a more constructive/edifying activity ... when the same voice calls me to assume a physical posture of prayer to reflect my spiritual condition ... when I resist the urge to give in just one more time to any number of temptations. What's the point?

While I'm sure that attitude has been buried in my heart for a long, long time, it's only recently surfaced in my conscious thoughts. And, last week, as I paused to weigh the consequences and rewards of sin and obedience, I heard it again. Only, that time, there was an answer, loud and clear. Holiness is the point. "I have been crucified with Christ, therefore I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, and the life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20.

It was one of those rare moments of extreme clarity. The point, the goal is Jesus - more of Him and less of me. Yes, of course, I knew that. I knew it in my head, probably could have even articulated it more eloquently than I am right now. But, I still didn't get it. It wasn't changing the way I live. You know, like finding out I might have to repeat that leadership class if I didn't start showing up changed my Gilmore Girls watching pattern. These last few days have been like finally figuring out how to turn on the flashlight I've been carrying in my purse forever. Colossians 3:17 says, "Whatever you do in word or in deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through Him." I finally understand that the point, the goal, of all of my life, every decision I make -- when I rise, what I eat, what I read, how I work, what I say, what I don't say, how I play -- is always holiness, Christlikeness, an effort to proclaim the glory of God, to declare that I have a living hope, a secure future.

What's the point? The point is that life is short and the only things I get to take with me are the treasures I've stored up for myself in heaven above.

Peters says it this way, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls."