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Live or Die

Here is something to ponder today - will you die knowing that you spent your life doing something you loved? That can be a hard one for each of us because there are some things we love to do and then there are things we do that seem to almost refill love into our lives. Which is more important? I think they are equally as important, but it isn't always the 'what' we do that matters - it is more important for us to know the 'who' behind all that we do. 

If we live, it is for the Lord. If we die, it is for the Lord. If we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (Romans 14:8)

If we live... 
That speaks volumes to me because we are never assured of life, are we? We might hope we will arise in the morning, put effort into the day, and finish it out in stillness and rest, but are we assured of our next breath? No one knows the hour of his birth, nor does he know the hour of his death. What happens in between those two moments in time is what we refer to as 'life' - at least life here on this earth. With 100% certainty I can say we all will have a finite number of days. It is important to remember we all have this span of time that we can either squander away, or live with purposeful intent.

If we live or die....we belong to the Lord...
Can you say this is true in your life? Do your actions reflect that you belong to Jesus? Do others see Jesus in the way you live? If the answer to this one is a little bit like 'shades of grey', then let me just say it is not too late to be sure the 'grey areas' where Jesus doesn't quite shine through get a little work done on them. All it takes is an acknowledgement of our need and Jesus is right there to help us fill up the void in those grey areas so there is no longer any doubt that we 'belong to Jesus'.

What does it mean to belong? In the most literal sense it means that we are the 'property' of another. We'd like to equate 'belonging' to having the right qualifications, such as us belonging to a particular social group. On Facebook, there are tons of groups created for others with the same interests as you might have. Oftentimes you have to answer a few 'qualifying questions' in order to 'join' the group. Why? The administrators of the site want to be sure the people who join have similar interests, or the right 'qualifications' to be a member of the group.

I am so very glad that Jesus calls us into relationship with him and 'qualifies' us to belong to his family through the work he has done in our lives. The moment we stop trying to 'qualify' ourselves and start trusting in what he has done for us, the more we will 'live or die' as though we belong totally to him. Just sayin!

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