Basics

I wrote this to a friend. I include it here because it helps to explain where I'm coming from.

When I read your note I tried to think of a way that I could help. So, I asked myself this question. ‘How do you deal with life?’ I know that our lives are very different. So, there may be nothing in what I write that will be helpful. But maybe there’ll be something.

Here are some things that are basic for me, things that provide a foundation for me to deal with life, things that make my life work.

First: I am loved. ‘Jesus loves me this I know, For the Bible tells me so.’ Simple. Childish. Profound. Apart from this I would never make it. And it’s not just that there’s this generic claim out there about Jesus’ love. I know that He loves me. When Linda died the sentence that I repeated to myself at different times is, ‘God’s plan for my life is good and wise and loving.’ It was a lifeline from the Spirit. There are lots of times when it does not feel like I am loved. But I know that I am. This is indispensable. Life for me would be impossible without this certainty – a precious gift from the Spirit.

Second: Life is hard. It is stinking hard. In fact, it is harder than I’ve ever imagined and in ways that I never anticipated. And I expect that it will get harder yet. The myth that I grew up with – work hard and you’ll have a life that you’ll enjoy to the hilt – has been exposed to me for the lie that it is. Life is hard. There are parts that would crush me if they could. Jesus never said otherwise.

Third: Heaven will make up for the garbage that I face here. If I were to find that this is not true then I would quit life immediately. It’s just not worth it otherwise. And I am quite serious when I say this. I’ve thought about it a good bit. Without the certainty of heaven there is no good reason to continue to put up with it all. I am deadly serious about this. This is not just the thing that I’m supposed to say. It is life and death truth for me. It is my hope that heaven will make up for it all. My expectation is that heaven will completely satisfy me. Completely satisfy me. I have spent lots of time thinking about heaven. My picture of it is that there will be so much to do there. My curiosity here will have full range there, being satisfied daily as I explore many different things. I do not enjoy chit chat here. I yearn for deep relationships, getting to know the real person and not the façade. That yearning will be met fully there. Satisfied! Each morning I will awaken eager to see what the day will hold, and each night I will go to sleep excited at what I’ve experienced. And I am sure that what I imagine heaven to be is just too small. It will be better than my wildest dreams. It will make up for all that I have suffered.

Fourth: Jesus is the key to it all. He has told me what my life is to be about. That includes lots of garbage that I will have to put up with. But pursuing the task that He has given me will make a difference. It will make Him look good. And that is just so important. It makes life worth living, garbage and all. I know that my life will make a difference because He says so. And when I get hit in the face with something else that stinks I find myself praying, ‘Jesus, I trust You. Even now, I trust You.’ I know that He knows what He is doing with my life. And right after that I pray, ‘I love You, Lord.’ I do what I do, dealing with all of this, because I love Jesus. I really do. I have found Him worthy of my love. So, I am willing to put up with a lot if that’s what’s involved in loving Him. My deepest joy and happiness will be to see Him. Even just a glance will send me into ecstasy. But there will be more than just a glance. I’m hoping for a hug – and I actually think that I’m going to get one. That, by itself, will make up for it all.

I hope that this somehow helps.

Leon