Feb 18 - DAY 6 - Life is a Temporary Assignment

Day 6

Life is a Temporary Assignment

Friends, this world is not your home,

so don’t make yourself cozy in it.

Don’t indulge your ego

at the expense of your soul.

1 Peter 2:11 MSG

What is your life metaphor?

As life has progressed, my life metaphor has increasingly been … Life is a gift!

•      I’m realizing that everything comes from God. Therefore, my proper response is thankfulness.
• 
  
•      Like the fruitcakes I’m given at Christmas, I’m realizing that this gift of life on earth has an expiration date. Therefore, I need to cling less to the things of this earth.
• 
  
•      Because gift of life on earth is temporary, I’m also learning to embrace – or at least laugh about – the increasing limitations of this earthly shell called my body. These limitations point me forward gratefully. Rather than clinging desperately – and futilely – to earth, they help me look forward to the promise of eternity.
• 
  
•      The previous understanding of this gift actually adds adventure to life. Has anyone ever given you a gift and inside is a clue to the next gift. The gift includes a treasure hunt, and with each clue the excitement mounts. But the greatest gift is waiting at the end. I’m learning to view blessings as clues. They point me to the greater gift of heaven, meaning that all of life is lived with more anticipation and joy.
• 
  
•      Because all earthly gifts have an expiration date, I’m learning to prioritize my time and focus more on the only things that will last for eternity – relationships. My relationship with God and my relationship with people of faith are the only things I can carry with me into eternity. Therefore, my greatest priority needs to be nurturing relationships and encouraging faith.

Rick Warren says our life metaphor should be that life is a test, a trust, and a temporary assignment. My life metaphor – life is a gift with an expiration date – fits most of these.

What’s your life metaphor? And how does it shape – for good or not-so-good – the way you live your life?

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who rips

right into the gift

and doesn’t save

the wrapping paper