I remember having an older friend that often talked about the things he "USED" to do. He left you wondering what his life was really like, back when he did all those things.
I remember wondering when I would start talking about the things I used to do. As human beings, our attention span is pretty blame short. The only thing that seems to keep our attention is ourselves. We love something for a while, but as soon as a few goosebumps disappear, we're trying to find something else that will give us more goosebumps. The only thing that consistently keeps our attention is giving ourselves goosebumps. Its no wonder we have trouble loving Jesus for a whole lifetime.
This week I had the rare opportunity to teach a 1st and 2nd grade art class. Even though I spent most of the time sharpening colored pencils, I was energized by the way they would bite their little lips and concentrate on mixing red, orange, and yellow. The pleasure they took in each of their little projects reminded me of the time when I used to love art. That night I went home and looked through my sketches. I used to love to draw, but I've hardly smelled graphite since high school. I never took any lessons...a trained artist would certainly find my drawings unimpressive. After looking for a bit, I found the last picture I drew just for fun. Its a shame, but I think I drew this picture when I was a senior in high school....
John Mark and I also went to the slopes with some of our students this past week. It has been almost 4 years since I've been skiing. The second time down the slope I tried a teensy weensy little baby jump and only managed to make the slope a very dangerous place for a brief moment. As I lay mangled in the snow, trying to spear other skiers with my ski poles as they passed, I tried to remember what it used to feel like to gracefully hit a jump at full speed...I decided the more hip, rugged, raw, brazen, out of control look was more in style now, so I would stick with that. Skiing definitely doesn't give me goosebumps anymore...except when I see trees(doesn't matter how far away they are).
 |
| Them be magniferous men and women... |
On a more serious note, I have learned something that I think is true for most people. In order to remain motivated in anything there has to be energy flowing into me. When I'm training for a marathon it sometimes goes months between races. All my running energy is being expended...its going out of me, into my training. If I don't find another runner to run with...if I don't run in even a little 5k...if I don't hang out with other runners...If I don't find a way to let some running energy flow back into me...I lose my way and find no joy in running. Eventually running becomes a thing I "used to do."
Personal salvation/relationship with Christ is really emphasized in our day. I think its a bad emphasis. If you try to love Jesus by yourself, it will become a thing you "USED TO DO!" Paul warns us not to forsake the assembling of the Body, and he was no spring chicken...he knew something about human nature. Church matters...
One might argue that the Church is full of hypocrisy. As I heard one preacher say, "Its just the place for you...you'll fit in just fine!"
