Do you ever stop to think about your priorities? Not the ones you pay lip service to - "Oh that's the most important thing in my life!" - but the ones that eat up your time and attention.
There's a verse in John's gospel in which Jesus tells his disciples "Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity" (NLT 12:25). The way I read this verse, it's all a matter of priorities with the emphasis on the pronouns.
Their life, their way - my life, my way, my plans, my ambitions, my goals, my aspirations, my hobbies, my passions...the list could go on and on. If these things become my love, my priority, it seems that Jesus says that's all I get. If, on the other hand, I subjugate my own desires to his, the rewards are eternal.
As a young person I was sooooo rebellious. I chafed at authority and strove to make sure that I was living MY life the way I wanted. The net result was not a peaceful life. I failed to see that God's plan for my life, even when it didn't jive with my own ideas for happiness, was the best plan because as my Creator he knows me better than I know my self and as my Father, he loves me beyond my limited comprehension of love. Once I began to grasp those facts, submission became a little easier.
But even with my adult understanding of why submission is a desirable thing, I think the practice of it can be a challenge. I asked God this morning, "How much of what I'm doing is a priority for you? How much of my time really is wasted, invested in things that only last for this very brief span that we know is life and how much am I banking for eternity?
I suppose I should close with some life-altering realization, but the truth of the matter is this is something that bears close scrutiny over time, hence the title in present tense. I want to give this some serious thought...
