The Gratuitous New Year Focus Post
It is hard not to be a bit introspective at the start of a new year. I guess that is why everyone talks about what they are doing as a resolution or a focus for the year…at least for the first two weeks of any year.
For the last two years, I have worked on my body. I hate to say I was a fat lard, but life is not exactly where I desire to be living it when I go to by a new pair of trousers and the sales guy asks “are you looking for a buffet pant?” I’m sure I looked at him like a pig looking at a watch. A buffet pant? What the heck is that? Well, anyone who has ever rented a tuxedo knows what this is. ADJUSTABLE WAISTBAND. FAT PANTS.
That was nearly two years and 40 pounds ago. I have actually enjoyed learning to like exercise. I feel good. I feel healthy…and short of plastic surgery, I’m not sure what else to do.
This year I need to put more effort into my spirit. I have done the auto-pilot thing long enough, and I’m officially tired of giving the same answers to spiritual questions I gave even five years ago. If I am going to be part of the body of Christ, I do not want to be body fat.
A couple of areas where I will spend time:
-Reading the Daily Bible (chronological order) – and actually doing it on a daily basis. I have read through the bible about three times in my life (as a year-long effort). If you do the math, it amounts to an average of three chapters per day every day of the year. I’m probably more excited this time around because A) I’m reading it in chronological order and B) the church I attend is having every member do the same thing this year. I am anxious to see exactly how God works through a church where every member spends time reading His word every day.
-Find more designated “meditative” time. I have an iPod full of bible studies and sermons that don’t get listened to as much as could be. I am designating at least one day per week where that will replace my music for the day.
-Re-learning to give: I have heard it said that there are three types of giving: Obligation giving, giving until it hurts, and giving until it doesn’t hurt anymore. To this day, I am still teetering between the first two.
I would love to learn a lesson from the most famous non-named woman ever to live. You know who she is, but you (like me) don’t know her name. Her story is couched in a scene where Jesus and his disciples are watching people giving to the temple treasury. Our bibles record only a few short words and we have inserted the label of the story of “The Widow’s Two Mites.” In reality, though, this woman shakes foundations. She is a seismic catalyst in a scene where Jesus’ disciples thought others were creating the earthquakes. Picture the rich, the well-to-do, the church leaders all coming in and giving lavish amounts. I don’t question their hearts. Most of them probably did it out of desire and not out of selfish ambition. That is not the difference Jesus notes here, though.
Jesus asks his disciples “did you see that? Did you see what she just did?” Odds are at least one of them thought Jesus might have been pointing out a thief. No, Jesus points out that this unnamed woman who threw in “thinnies” gave more than all of those others because she gave out of her poverty while everyone else gave out of their wealth.
To my knowledge, Jesus never spoke directly to the woman.
For all we know, she never even knew the coversation was happening.
For all we know, she left that day not knowing that Jesus Himself not only took note of her, but would include her story in the Gospels that would touch mankind for the rest of time.
For all we know, she went hungry that night because of her gift.
THAT is the kind of giving into which I want to grow. I hope I can meet this woman someday in eternity. I would love to know her full story. For now, though, I’ll be content with having her as a goal – a level of maturity I have not yet reached.
My hope is that at the end of this year, I will know God more fully, become more familiar with His word, and be a little more amazed at how He works. Happy 2010!
-MH
