O, Lord, make me know my end and what is the measure of my days. Let me know fleeting I am! Behold, You have made my life a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before You. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Surely man goes about as a shadow! Surely for nothing they are in turmoil! Man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather. (vs. 4-6)
All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. And one man in his time plays many parts. Shakespeare, As You Like It
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time. And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle. Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Shakespeare, Macbeth
What's It All About, Alfie? Is That All There Is? Sing it with me now....if you grew up in the 60's, that is. Life. Ever gotten soured on it? Ever wonder what we are all doing here anyway? Does life consist of working, eating, sleeping, an occasional movie and too much Angry Birds (oops!)? Is there a greater joy? A higher purpose? Or are we dust on our way back to dusty death? Strutting about as players on a stage.....many of us pretty bad actors? Is my life a tale told by an idiot or does it just look idiotic sometimes?
Why is it that man seldom considers the brevity of his own life? Shocked by the death of someone near, we mourn and reconsider our purpose, knowing our lives could be cut short in a moment. We are but a breath away from eternity. Thus a shadow? No. Our lives have substance and, I submit, should then leave a shadow.
The thing about knowing Christ is that we don't merely act a part we think the world will applaud....or boo. We become. That is so much different. The actor does not really live. She is only vicariously experiencing the life she portrays. Waiting for her standing ovation on this earth. She is praised for being who she is not! The hour upon the stage is pretense. When the curtain closes, the audience still does not know the woman, only her performance. That is not what I want for my life. I want to exit having entered as me. No bull. No makeup to cover the flaws (well, maybe a little) and no words said just to be politically correct. Surely the Director of Life has a dream for my performance here in this theater of life. But I don't play somebody else, because it is not an act but a reality. In the vast embroidery of His plan for His people, I get to play myself on His stage. To be truly me.
In Your book were written for me, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139) There is a story all right. Some are brief. Some are long. But they are specifically written for each of us to be in them. I cannot be the main player in someone else's story or I am only acting. I want my journey, and an Oscar at the end for playing Kay so well. The writer of Hebrews encouraged us to live our lives as though we are being watched by a great crowd of witnesses cheering us on! These have not been forgotten because they played a part in the greatest drama of them all - salvation. My time upon the stage being me, being His, will ever be remembered, too. Not because I played the part so well, but because I did not play a part at all.
All the world's a stage and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. And one man in his time plays many parts. Shakespeare, As You Like It
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps in this petty pace from day to day, to the last syllable of recorded time. And all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle. Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Shakespeare, Macbeth
What's It All About, Alfie? Is That All There Is? Sing it with me now....if you grew up in the 60's, that is. Life. Ever gotten soured on it? Ever wonder what we are all doing here anyway? Does life consist of working, eating, sleeping, an occasional movie and too much Angry Birds (oops!)? Is there a greater joy? A higher purpose? Or are we dust on our way back to dusty death? Strutting about as players on a stage.....many of us pretty bad actors? Is my life a tale told by an idiot or does it just look idiotic sometimes?
Why is it that man seldom considers the brevity of his own life? Shocked by the death of someone near, we mourn and reconsider our purpose, knowing our lives could be cut short in a moment. We are but a breath away from eternity. Thus a shadow? No. Our lives have substance and, I submit, should then leave a shadow.
The thing about knowing Christ is that we don't merely act a part we think the world will applaud....or boo. We become. That is so much different. The actor does not really live. She is only vicariously experiencing the life she portrays. Waiting for her standing ovation on this earth. She is praised for being who she is not! The hour upon the stage is pretense. When the curtain closes, the audience still does not know the woman, only her performance. That is not what I want for my life. I want to exit having entered as me. No bull. No makeup to cover the flaws (well, maybe a little) and no words said just to be politically correct. Surely the Director of Life has a dream for my performance here in this theater of life. But I don't play somebody else, because it is not an act but a reality. In the vast embroidery of His plan for His people, I get to play myself on His stage. To be truly me.
In Your book were written for me, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. (Psalm 139) There is a story all right. Some are brief. Some are long. But they are specifically written for each of us to be in them. I cannot be the main player in someone else's story or I am only acting. I want my journey, and an Oscar at the end for playing Kay so well. The writer of Hebrews encouraged us to live our lives as though we are being watched by a great crowd of witnesses cheering us on! These have not been forgotten because they played a part in the greatest drama of them all - salvation. My time upon the stage being me, being His, will ever be remembered, too. Not because I played the part so well, but because I did not play a part at all.
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