Issues of Existence

Spring break is upon us and the kids are home from school for a week. And since I'm able to take some time off from work, I've been wondering what we'll do. It's a great opportunity for some family time, and yet I know how easy it'll be for each of us to get lost in our own pursuits.

I can see it now... I'm in the dining room grinding my teeth as I do the taxes, Fiona is curled up on the couch in the living room enjoying a good book, Nick is in the family room intently focused on some game on the kids' computer, Amy's down in my office texting someone on Facebook, and Becky hasn't appeared yet -- she's still in her room sleeping.

And as I thought about how we could be sure to spend some quality time together as a family, I wondered about the many choices we each make that revolve around our own personal lives. I could also see in my own life that so much of my life revolves around me: my interests and my appetites; my need for rest and my desire for fun; my diversions and my collections. I could go on and on. Sure, I'd like to believe that as a Christian, I aim to base my choices in life on what God wants me to do, but I wonder what percentage of both my pursuits and my possessions are more about me than about God.

I recently read how plainly Paul puts things when he says, "for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we exist" (1 Corinthians 8:6). Paul couldn't get more basic in his focus here -- these are simple issues of existence. We exist for the Father and we exist through Jesus. So this means that without the Lordship of Jesus, I wouldn't even have another heartbeat nor take another breath. I can't exist without Him and His all-encompassing Lordship. And without my heavenly Father, I'd have absolutely no eternally meaningful purpose to live for. I exist for what He sovereignly determines to be my purpose on this earth, and I'm to seek Him to discover it.

The thought that this leaves me with is that my life ought to revolve much more around the supreme God of all things than it does. If the truth is that I only exist through God and for God, then I have to ask how much of what I presently pursue and possess reflects that kind of God-centeredness? I want to begin examining my life with this in mind -- each choice, each purchase, each challenge -- is this why God gave me breath? Is this what I exist to spend my time at? And as I ask such foundational questions about my very existence on any given day, I hope that an ever-increasing percentage of my life will be focused on the awesome God who gave me life.

And I trust that what I do with spring break will reflect that!

© 2009 by Ken Peters