Download the latest sermonDate added: Tuesday, 20th October 2009
Stuart McAllister says that our culture and our daily lives tell us constantly and continuously that "I" am the centre of the world. But . . .
Our culture and our daily lives tell us constantly and continuously that "I" am the centre of the world. But the Western pursuit of individualism, autonomy, and privacy, comes with a heavy price tag. By pursuing the fulfilment of lives here and now and acting as if this world, this moment, this opportunity is all there is, we sacrifice the ability to look out and beyond life; we sacrifice the ability to see past self. We live by trying to make life and the world fit our personal desires. Yet we are not the centre of the world; to behave as such is to live falsely.
The New Testament is anchored in the proposition that the aim of life is altogether outside of life. To the kingdom of men and women Jesus declared the anomaly of the kingdom of God: "Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Matthew 10:39). Since this world is not our home, there is a sense of alienation that must be taken into the heart of all experiences. We are hopeful, but we are restless. We are foreigners with treasures in heaven; we are resident aliens looking toward home. If this world is not the end, but a journey, then we must not treat it as if it is the sum of all things. The choices we make now with our time, our talents, and our lives have eternal consequences.
What are you living for? What do you see? What vision, whose values, what treasure drives you?
[Taken from A Slice of Infinity (21-10-05)
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