Recently, there has been a lot of violence in various locations around the world. I know it's an obvious statement. But I bring it up because it has got me thinking. I think what makes all of it so scary is the seeming randomness. I think that it's easy to just look at it and honestly feel bad for those who were affected, but to move on with little to no change in how we live. There are several things that I've been reflecting on as I stop to think about all of this in an effort to process it and take it all in.
The first is that when we wake up and roll out of bed, we never know what is going to happen that day. We could get into a car accident a block away from our houses. We could go to a seemingly safe environment at work and be faced with a volley of shots like those at the Navy Yard a few weeks ago. Most likely, though, we will return home safe and sound, exhausted by a full day of work. And I think it is that probability that has the tendency to make me complacent. Complacent to believe that the routine that I follow is really going to continue tomorrow, the day after, and so on until there is some event in the distant future that shifts my routine in just the tiniest way. Perhaps I will change jobs in a few years, go back to school, or move to a different city. But for the most part the overall routine will never change. Or so I sometimes find myself thinking. I think this type of thinking can be very dangerous. C.S. Lewis wrote, "100 per cent of us die, and that percentage cannot be increased." I like to remind myself that the opposite is true. As far as I am concerned, there have been so few people who have not eventually died that I can safely approximate my probability of dying as 1 as well.
In light of that thought, I like to ask myself- if this is indeed reality, how then should I respond?
I don't think we ought to change our daily routines in response to acts of violence. That would be, in my mind, giving in. I think we ought to stand our ground, be strong, keep on moving to show that in the end, good will prevail. However, I do think that I at least ought to change the way I approach life in general. The first thought that comes to mind is that I really want to live a life worth living. A life that does not center on my comfort, my well-being, and my personal ambitions. A life of serving others and of passing on the grace and love that I have been shown. A life where, at the end of the day, I would be able to face my Savior and say, "here is what I have done with the gifts that You have given me."And hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Because at the end of the day, it's about the relationship that we have with God. It's about glorifying Him to the maximum of our abilities. And the Christian life well lived is one that reflects His glory, and not ours. I believe that I have a Savior who loves me and controls my eternal destiny. Life isn't easy, but He says that His grace is sufficient for us, and so each day I want to live by looking to Him for a purpose in life. That is how I choose to face today, tomorrow, and the day after. Running in pursuit of that which cannot be taken away.
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