It's a crazy, crazy, crazy world we live in. The news being broadcast from Boston today has been surreal. Pictures of the two suspects from the Boston Marathon bombings have been on every network station. One dead, one at large. As comedian Adam Sandler tweeted earlier today, "If this were Grand Theft Auto, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev would definitely have 6 stars right now." As Jeremy and I were watching the TV earlier today, he commented just how much the news reminded him of the movie, "The Siege", with Denzel Washington and Bruce Willis. There are a lot of similarities! Kudos to the Boston Police Department and the FBI for their hard work and speed to which they were able to sift through so much evidence and determined who did this so quickly!
What really gets me thinking a lot is when the media starts talking about the victims. The young boy that was killed in the bombings, I believe he was like 6 or 7 years old. Senseless! Tragedy! Anytime you hear of any murder on television period, when friends of the murdered are interviewed, you always hear the same description of the victim. "They were upstanding citizens." "They were Sunday School teachers." "They were loved by all." "They always had a smile on their face." And I truly understand wanting to remember the good in people when they are gone. I respect that. But the inquisitive part of my brain always seems to ask, "Oh really?" Not speaking of the Boston Bombings murders here, but in general. A 29 year old man gets killed in a drive by shooting. His neighbors claim he was an upstanding citizen that never met anyone he didn't like. I often wonder, "Oh really? Isn't he the same guy who flipped me the bird in traffic last week?" I'm not saying that is always the case, but it is enough to make me wonder at times.
But it's also got me thinking, "How do I want people to remember me as when I'm gone?" I have a friend, Scott Miller, whom I've known since the mid 1980's. He was a youth pastor at the time, in Marietta, Georgia. He is now the head pastor of a Baptist Church in Jeffersonville, Kentucky. I will never forget one time when he was asked the question, "What would you want written on your tombstone?" He reply was real simple, yet real honest. "A Man Who Followed Jesus Christ."
Am I living a life that would say the same? Is that how people would really remember me? In all honesty, the first thing people tend to say about me is that I am the one who is most fanatical about The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cleveland Browns. But to those that don't know me, do they see Jesus Christ in me? I really don't believe they do. Occasionally people may see something in me that makes them believe I am most likely a Christian. But do they consistently see Christ in me? I seriously doubt it.
So what do I do about it? It's time to get into shape. Time to go to the gym. I am not talking about losing 30 pounds (which I seriously need to do!) I am referring to God's Gym. I am talking about getting serious with getting into reading His Word on a daily basis. More disciplined on having a meaningful daily prayer time with Him. I am talking about having my mind transformed to where only pure thoughts are dwelled on within my mind. There is an old adage of "Garbage In, Garbage Out." I need to fill my mind with the thoughts of our God! I need to get disciplined to the point to where I can walk away from situations that are not pleasing to God, and make my walk a walk that would be pleasing to Him.
Some will tell me that I don't need to be concerned with what others think of me. I don't believe that is what God wants. I believe He wants us to walk a path that will shine His light onto this dark world. Some people will call us nuts. But that's okay. During Jesus' walk on Earth, people called him nuts as well!
Max Lucado, in his book "Be Like Jesus" asks the question, "What would this world be like if there were no Christians?" The first image that enters my mind in reply to that question is the image I've been seeing on TV for the past few days. People running aimlessly through the streets, screaming and crying.
"Dear Lord, praise you for being a Perfect God! Thank you for your love! Please continue to shape me and mold me more into Your image! I pray this is in the name of Jesus! Amen."
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