What I did last summer...

I was listening to Prairie Home Companion a few weeks ago, and the advertisement for the Ketchup Advisory Board came on. Now, I'll let you look up that segment check wikipedia to find out all about it. In this installment, Barb comments that she is concerned that Heaven will be like the school reports where you had to tell the class what you did over the summer. She says something to the effect of, "all the other kids got to do fun, exciting things, and all I did was watch ants in my parent's front lawn." (the show can be listened to here: http://prairiehome.publicradio.org/programs/2009/07/18/)

What if Heaven will be like that? What if we get to Heaven, and God says to us, so, what did you do with your life? In God's eyes, my lifetime isn't nearly so long as a summer, and it's a reasonable question. God certainly will demand some sort of accounting for my years here. (Hebrews 9:27)

I started thinking about that, and talking a bit to my wife about it. Here's what I decided. I want to be able to say, well, I cared about people. I worked hard to follow God as best I could. I was there when it mattered. When the important stuff came up, I was ready, and I did what needed to be done.

I'm not going to want to say, "I had great health insurance, I had a killer 401K, I had a sportscar..." None of those things are going to sound right, and God is not impressed by any of it. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't think that it's wrong to have heath insurance, I myself have health insurance, and recommend it to anyone else who can get it, but that's not what life is about. Nor is life about having a cool house, though I really want one of those.

Here's the thing, life is about God and people. In fact, those are the only permanent things. God is permanent, He is, was, and always shall be. People, being made in God's image, are also permanent. Humans were made to be eternal creatures. Jesus promises us that we will be given new, everlasting bodies, and can live forever in heaven with Him. I want my life to be about permanent things, I'm not opposed to having a cool house, but I want to be able to tell God about how I lived a life centered around Him, and around loving and caring for his children. The house can't come with me to heaven, the people can.