DOING THE WORK OF JESUS.

Found on Pinterest on 7-9-17. Written by Henri Nouwen.

If I had to encapsulate in a small bit of space what our life on earth is all about, the quote above from Henri Nouwen, would do it beautifully for me.

When we are young, our minds are full of things we want  to accomplish. Our energies become directed toward getting  a good job, getting the home we’ve always dreamed of owning,  and finding someone to share our life with. A lot of our precious time is spent texting, on the internet, listening to music, or doing                   what we really enjoy doing. We also spend a great deal of time parenting our children.

When we grow old, we have fewer distractions to occupy our minds.We are given the gift of time. We slow down, find time to smell flowers, watch butterflies, touch trees, and observe more intently the things in our environment. We also spend more time contemplating life, exploring our own inner world, and more time searching and talking to God, or studying religion and philosophy.

We spend time asking ourselves questions and trying to sort out for ourselves what really matters in life, what we can’t do without, and what our purpose is, and have we fulfilled what we were sent to do. We come to the realization that People matter. Reconciling relationships and finding resolution matters. Finding our way back to the God of our childhood so that we can call God Abba, matters.

Life finally lets us know that Love is our purpose on earth. We are here to work for peace, to offer forgiveness to others, as well as ourselves. We are here to care for People without discrimination or judgment. We are here to care for the hungry, the sick, the dying, the poor, the old, the disabled, and always the children. This is what God sent us to do, and we must find the strength and courage to do it, even in difficult times.

Yu/stan/kema