Mortal

by Aaron
I know this blog post is going to seem very morbid; at least it does to me. Don’t misunderstand me, I do not typically sit around and think about death on a regular basis (unless I have just watched the Walking Dead and I am contemplating the zombie apocalypse). Recently, for some reason, my own mortality has been a subject of my subconscious mind for a while now, at least I think it has based upon the dreams I have been having.
 
When I think about my mortality I start to think about legacy, what will be here after I am gone? I do not think of legacy in terms of, “will people remember me,” but more in terms of, “will people continue to live in the hope of the Gospel in a truer way because I was somehow able to point to Jesus.” Again, don’t misunderstand me, this has nothing to do with working my way into God’s favor, it has more to do with being grateful to Jesus and simply wanting to love Him back.
 
I am currently reading a book that likes to quote Viktor Frankl (I attribute many of my thoughts to things I am processing while reading). Frankl was an Austrian Neurologist that was thrown into a Nazi concentration camp because he was a Jew. He witnessed, and lived through, unspeakable atrocities. In the end he wrote a book called Man’s Search for Meaning about how you can find meaning in even the worst circumstances. In this book Frankl says, “Everything can be taken from man but one thing: the last of human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”
 
I agree and disagree with the statement. I disagree because many times we do not get to choose our own way because it is the Lord who guides our steps even when we fail to realize it. Proverbs 16:9 “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” The word “establishes” means guides or determines, so whether we realize it or not, God is firmly in control.
 
Where I agree with Frankl is that God gives us the ability to determine our attitude in any and every given situation. We can “choose our own way” in how we will respond and how we choose to learn from our circumstances. When someone hurts us we can determine to not let that pain steer us towards a bitter path, when we don’t understand why God would allow a difficult situation into our lives we can determine to trust and learn from Him, when we hurt others we can determine how (or if) we will own up to our mistakes and seek to make things right.
 
In the end it doesn’t matter what other people think or how they will respond, it matters if we, ourselves, are going to follow Jesus no matter what others do. I guess that is why I am reflecting on my own mortality as of late, I think I want to live in such a way that when I am gone I won’t leave broken relationships in my wake. I don’t want my life to detract from the grace of Jesus. Yes, I know, because I am human I will always do stupid things that detract from His name, but I have a dream that I, and all of us, would start to recognize the times we pile dirt on Jesus’ name and do our best to make it right.

Again, as I keep saying, I believe we are saved completely, totally, and freely by the grace of Christ, but as Dallas Willard liked to say, “Grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning. Earning is an attitude. Effort is an action. Grace, you know, does not just have to do with forgiveness of sins alone.”
Good words to remember from a man who so recently came face to face with his own mortality and is now face to face with Jesus.