At the End of the Day. James W. Moore

At the End of the Day - James W. Moore


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months ago, I was asked to conduct the funeral service of a young teacher who had died after just a few years of teaching. His mother was brokenhearted, and she expressed what many must have felt. "It's such a shame! He spent all those years getting ready to do what he wanted more than anything. He wanted to teach, to challenge young minds and influence their lives for good. And now this!" she said. "And now this!"

      Or think of the man who dreamed for years of his retirement. All those things he wanted to do and share with his wife, all those places to visit, trips to make, sights to see—but then, when he retired, his wife was stricken with an illness and was slowly wasting away before his very eyes. He, too, could have said it: "All those big dreams, and now this!"

      Well, all of this brings us to one of the most moving stories in all the Bible: the story of Moses. Remember Moses. Remember how abruptly his story ends. For forty years, he grappled with a cantankerous people. For forty years, he wandered with them in the wilderness. For forty years, he struggled to hold them in line. For forty years, he was a pilgrim and a sojourner. For forty years, he slept in a nomad's tent under the stars and lived off the land. All to one end: that he might reach the Promised Land! For forty years, he had dreamed of it. But then Moses died before they got there; a stone's throw short of his goal and lifelong dream, and he died!

      Does this seem unfair? Was it a tragedy? Was Moses' life a failure? Or is it possible that though Moses never reached the land physically, he had been there in his heart and mind and soul all along? You see, the truth is that Moses had possessed the promised land all along. He had it in his heart. He had seen it, felt it, dreamed it, lived it, loved it from day one. One ancient legend that has emerged out of this poignant story shows Moses protesting at first. But in the legend, God says to him, "Come on now, Moses. Why must you cross over into the Promised Land? You've always had it in your heart. Your people never have. Let them enter. You've been there long enough. Now it is time for you to come home and be with me."

      This is a very important lesson to learn, isn't it? That the real promised lands are within us. We don't have to wait. We can claim the promised land now. We can have heaven now. Isn't that great? We don't have to wait until we die. Heaven can begin for us now. This is the first idea. It is a fact that in this life we will experience disappointment and have unreached goals. But the good news is that God is with us! This is idea number one.

       Second, Happy Endings Are Fine, I'm Sure, but Don't Forget That There Is Great Joy in the Journey

      When we spend all our time thinking of and longing for "the sweet by and by," we may miss "the joy of the here and nigh." Let me ask you something. What is failure, anyway? How would you define it? Most of us are easily tempted to define failure as not arriving where we intended to arrive, not achieving our goals, not meeting our objectives. Well, I'm all in favor of setting goals and having objectives and working toward them. But I certainly don't agree with the tough football coach who said, "Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser!"

      Come on, now! What about Moses? Moses did not reach his goal. He meant to enter the Promised Land, but he didn't get there. But does that make him a failure? I should say not! What about all those years of commitment and obedience and faithfulness? What about that motley crew of renegade people that he shaped into the servant people of God? What about the impact of his life on human history? Indeed, on your life and mine? What about the loyalty and devotion and character he built? What about the Ten Commandments he brought down from Mount Sinai? His victory was in the journey!

      The author Robert Louis Stevenson had an untimely death. He was only forty-four years old when he died. Some would insist that his journey was too brief—but not Stevenson. He would not say that! He would not complain! He never lost hope. He never gave up. He never quit on life. He never became bitter. Later, facing imminent death, he asked his friends to place on his tombstone these words: "Gladly did I live, and gladly die, and I laid me down with a will."

      The journey is what counts. When you look at Moses and what happened to him, the point is driven home powerfully. The bigger part of his story was the traveling—not the arriving. So the lesson for us is clear: Enjoy the journey! Smell the roses! Celebrate the present. Live in the now moment. Sow the seeds of God's love everywhere you go. Feel God's spirit within you. Claim heaven now—today— and trust God for tomorrow, trust God for the ending.

       Third and Finally, Nothing That Is Really Great and Important Is Ever Finished in One Generation

      Each person dies with something left undone. We never do all we wanted to do. We never do all we intended to do. We never see all we hoped to see. We never become all we dreamed of becoming. Maybe that's what John Wesley meant when he said, "We are going on to perfection." The journey is our home. The joy is in the pilgrimage. So we have to learn the hard lessons of patience and trust. We must do what we can and then trust other people and God to see that what we have begun will be continued. We do our best and trust God for the rest.

      There is a wonderful film entitled The Lucky Star (1980). It's about a thirteen-year-old boy who is left behind in Nazi-occupied Holland when his parents are swept away to a World War II death camp. He is a brave, decent, honorable, hopeful, faithful young man—an inspiration to the Dutch villagers. He dreams of freedom. He longs for it. He sings of it. He talks about it. He wants so much to be free! But when his life is threatened by the Nazis, he begins to see that his days are numbered. He begins to see his dream fade, but not his faith, and he speaks wonderful words to those who threatened his life: He says that whether dead or alive, he will win because what he stands for will live on in the town—he stands for freedom.

      Those powerful words remind us of our Resurrection faith, of Jesus, and of his journey. He came singing love. He lived singing love. He died singing love. He rose in silence. If the song is to continue, we must do the singing. Now, that is what the Christian journey is about—the sacred privilege and awesome responsibility that is now ours, to "go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere that Jesus Christ is born," to go tell it on the mountain over the hills and everywhere that the Savior has come into the world.

      By the way, do you recall that Jesus lived and taught on the move? He was born on a journey. He died on a journey. He rose again on a journey. And in doing this, he shows us not only that there is great joy in the journey, but also that God is with us every step of the way.

      As One Who Knew the Gift of the Holy Spirit?

       Scripture: Acts 2:1-4

      I want to share with you a book I picked up recently. It's a humorous little book called You Might Be a United Methodist If. . . by United Methodist pastor Robert Martin Walker (St. Louis, Mo.: Chalice Press, 1998). Obviously, it's a take-off on Jeff Foxworthy's stand-up comedy routine "You Might Be a Redneck If . . . " which is simply a series of comical comments such as, "If you have an old, rusted-out car sitting on concrete blocks, draped with a rebel flag, in your front yard, you might be a redneck."

      In similar fashion, Walker's book pokes good-natured fun at United Methodists with comments like these:

      You know that a circuit rider is not an electrical device. You think UMW stands for United Methodist Women rather than United Mine Workers.

      You realize that The Book of Discipline is not a guide for getting your children to behave.

      Your congregation's Christmas pageant has both boy and girl wise men.

      You've ever owned a pair of cross-and-flame boxer shorts.

      And this final one, which leads into the subject matter of this chapter:

      You don't take a Rolaids when your heart is strangely warmed.

      The great preacher and writer Dr. Leslie Weatherhead once told a wonderful


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