Making the most of the life God has given us
Luke 11:27-28
While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out
and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which
you nursed.” He replied, “Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God
and observe it.”
There is
nothing more foolish than to fret about our fate; to worry about the cards that
God has dealt us in giving us our family, our nationality, the color of our
skin, our height and history, and our personal pedigree. And yet how often we wish our life were
otherwise, different than it is, maybe born into another family. We say wistfully, If only I had been born in
Sam Walton’s family! Then, I wouldn’t
have a care in the world and just build museums all day! Or how blessed to be born into Gene Bruick’s
family, where we play golf all day!
There’s a great scene in the movie “The Lord of the Rings,” where Frodo
frets about his fate. He regretfully
pines: “I wish the ring had never come to me.”
He’s referring to the ring of power he must carry to Mt. Doom and
destroy. But Gandalf wisely advises him:
“So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to do is to decide what to do
with the time that is given to us.” In
other words, it doesn’t matter if you’re born a Baggins or a Bruick, a Walton
or an Antony. What matters is what you
do with your life. It doesn’t matter
what cards you’re dealt, but how you play your hand.
In the
gospel today, a woman compliments Jesus on his pedigree, and maybe she wished
she had been born into his family. She
shouts: “Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts that nursed
you!” But Jesus, like Gandalf, replies,
“Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.” That is, stop fretting over your fate and
wishing your life were different. Humbly
accept the cards God has dealt you and do the best you can with what blessings
you’ve been given. In the end, that’s
how each person will be measured: not by their last name, but by their lasting
legacy.
So, how do
we make the most of our fate? How do we
play our cards well? Here’s two things
everyone can do. First, figure out your
strengths and develop them. Each person,
without exception, is given gifts and abilities, talents and treasures. Don’t bury them, invest them and get the best
possible R.O.I. (return on the investment).
Everyone gets an Ace in their hand.
Second, figure out your faults and short-comings and work to overcome
them; no one is perfect. Everyone gets a
two-card or a four-card in their hand, and you have to deal with them,
too. As Kenny Rogers sang in “The
Gambler,” “Every gambler knows the secret to surviving is knowing what to throw
away and knowing what to keep. Cause
every hands a winner and every hands a loser.”
Those who win in the card game of life are not those who fret over their
cards and fold. But rather, those who
make the best of what they’ve been dealt, who hear the word of God and observe
it. Cause every hands a winner, and
every hands a loser.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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