Pause for a Second

This was written by friend Caylin. It is SO good I just had to share it :)

This is how we do it. We sit and learn our brains, throw our hats and work the grains. Make big money for more learning, and more learning for more earnings. We go build ourselves our mansions and fancy reputations. There's little life to savor so forget about our neighbor. No room for selfless sacrifice and our hearts now they roll the dice.



We throw it all away at the end of our day and step on others' shoulder to make us even taller. We find safety in the madness, denying that our life's a mess. Before we know it we're old and grown and the only thing we own is not the shirts on our backs but an emptiness inside. "Was it worth it? Was it foolishness? How can I ever fix this mess?" This is our own doing.



Pause this now, quit cryin'. Look up and see Orion of whose belt God buckled with his own hands, the same God who's numbered the grains of all the sands. He holds electrons in their orbit, sustains all life, and more than that: God has made us in His image. We're His children called by name, not one of us the same. He has planned and he has purposed. Displays pure justice and divine mercy. Remember? Sins wiped away? What now have we left to say?



Now tell me what's worth living. Go back and work the grain, pursue a life of fame, or shall we invest in an eternity? Forever peace with God the King? Oh, isn't it exciting?



I know people think it's strange that I wear a ring alone but it reminds me that God owns this life I'm living. Stay humble. Keep on giving. There's thrill in this purpose. I was made for God's service. And for me no gain is lost, see, Christ in me, He paid the cost. My plate now is clean--God and I a team.



This is how I'll live this life. Worth every second of my strife. I'll stand on God's word, the Solid Rock, I've learned. A foundation never changing. Thank God for some consistency, 'cause the world is so unstable. Now I'm at God's table and I'm home. This is where I want to be. I've tasted His food and know that it is good. My soul is satisfied.



"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.'"



- Matthew 16:24-28 NIV