Breakfast on the Beach – Entry 9
Romans 14:8
Why does it matter?
As a lawyer, one of the best things I do is ask questions. Questions matter. Good lawyers ask good questions. Great lawyers ask great questions. Great answers only come from great questions.
As a Christian, I often ask myself why something matters. What significance does an event, a fact, or a failure have in the span or my life and God’s plan? These questions help me keep what I think has importance in perspective with what God says matters.
Why does anything matter? As modern day western Christians we have lots of things we think are important. We want to be free from sin, give, serve, be good stewards, be better parents, eat healthier food, help save the environment, get in better shape, lower our cholesterol, find a cure for aids, save for retirement, go to good colleges, help end poverty, stop abortion, fight gay marriage. The list is endless. Why do any of those things matter?
For the Christian there can only be one answer: Something matters only in relation to the fact that I was crucified with Christ, I no longer live, He lives in me. I am a new creation, I was bought with a price and I am to live unto the Lord.
C.H. Spurgeon said it better than I can on the morning of June 10:
“If God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for our preparation for immortality that we should tarry here…Why then are we here? Would God keep his children out of paradise a single moment longer than was necessary? Why is the army of the living God still on the battle-field when one charge might give them the victory? Why are his children still wandering hither and thither through a maze, when a solitary word from his lips would bring them into the centre of their hopes in heaven? The answer is—they are here that they may ‘live unto the Lord,’ and may bring others to know his love. We remain on earth as sowers to scatter good seed; as ploughmen to break up the fallow ground; as heralds publishing salvation. We are here as the ‘salt of the earth,’ to be a blessing to the world. We are here to glorify Christ in our daily life. We are here as workers for him, and as ‘workers together with him.’”
We are on earth to be workers for Christ and with Christ. That is it. That is all. That is everything. Through this lens everything else in life comes into focus. Without this lens, nothing in life can ever be in focus. The next time someone or something says what you should do or be, not do or not be, ask, “Why does it matter?” If you can’t trace the answer back to what Spurgeon had to say, you might want to ask a few more questions…
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