Life is too Short

How many times have we heard the phrase, "Life is too short?" I was thinking about that this morning and what it could mean for me. Often, the message in our secular world is to walk away from spouses, friends, family, neighbors, jobs, ministries, or any situation or commitment that is challenging, negative, or hurtful. Because after all, life is too short. It's not that I necessarily disagree with that. I think there are times when God wants us to shake the dust off our feet and walk away. When we are in tune with God and seek wisdom in these situations, He shows us what to do.

In Matthew 5:44 Jesus says: "But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you." I was thinking about that this morning as I prayed very specifically for someone who has hurt me. I prayed that the Lord would love on this person today, have mercy on them, and give them the desires of their heart. It was not hard to pray those words. They flowed easily and genuinely. Ask me about praying the same thing next week, and I might be sputtering to get those words out! But this morning, it was effortless. There is something otherworldly that takes place inside of our head-to-toe bodies when we pray God's love over someone who has wounded us; when we pray God's love over razor sharp edges and bitter intentions. Darkness is lit up by even the tiniest portion of light and that includes all that is inside of us.

The way that I felt as I prayed and when I was done, is actually the way I wish I could walk around every day, all the time because it felt good. It felt right. It felt like the real God-created me. 

However, make no mistake that I understand this is not always a feel-good process. I get it. This morning the words of love flowed but there have been plenty of other times when it went against my very grain; when I fought God as He bended me to break the rebellion; when all I could do was whisper the prayer. Resentment can be difficult to let go of. A prayer grudgingly offered is much better than no prayer at all. God works in those situations. His hand is upon our cheek as we speak.

So, in that sense, life is also too short to not persevere, not take the hard road, not trust God in the wilderness, or love our enemies. The answer for the follower of Jesus is not always going to be to walk away because our time on this Earth does have a limit. We have work to do that involves growing our inward selves to be more like Jesus so we can better love like Jesus.

Dee M. Kostelyk