Only one life to live
All things have been handed over to me
By my Father. Matthew 11:27
Read Luke 13:22—30
With only one life to live and so many ways to live it, so many places to visit, so many experiences to sample, such a variety of lifestyles to explore, every choice I make brings with it the whispered scold: ‘But what about me? You didn’t choose me. You’ll be the poorer for it. I’m something you’ll never know.’ I know voices like that. They do whisper. They do scold. They tell me that Jesus will cheat me if I cling centrally and only to him, that if I begin and end each day by pursuing his voice and if I follow where he leads I’ll miss out on all the other things, all the other siren calls. So it all hangs on one thing, that he is the truth. And from that, that he is the way. And from that, that he is the life.[1] And from that, that I will not lose a scrap. In fact this is a surrender to the one who surrendered himself for me so that God can, along with him, freely give me all things.[2]
Dear Lord, my experience of walking with you to this point has not robbed me. You have enriched me. You have restored me. You have given all of yourself to me. I live toward the fulfilment of your purpose, and can’t wait to see what life will open out to. For you promise that all things are mine. And that is because I am yours, and all things are subjected to you.[3]
[1] John 14:6
[2] Romans 8:32
[3] 1 Corinthians 15:27