Yesterday was an interesting day…I'd like to tell you about it.
I am housesitting for my cousins for the next 10 days and really that means, I am dog sitting. And, when I say dog sitting I mean they have a 6 month old 65 pound english bulldog, labrador mix. All the energy of a lab, stalkiness of a bulldog, and muscle of both. This dog is crazy! She is always jumping around, can't sit still, chews on everything. I opened the door just barely because I was going to meet someone outside and this dog barrels through me, runs out the front door and bolts across the street into the desert beyond. Now, being only 6 months, calling her is fruitless as well as enticing her with treats. So, all I can do is chase her down and corner her! Now, she is fast but have you ever seen a 230 pound man wearing Chacos run through the desert? I didn't think so, because we are like LIGHTNING! I bolted after her and when I finally got close enough, I hurled a treat right at her face to distract her and when I finally caught up to her…she saw me and ran again. luckily I had someone with a car cut her off and I literally picked her up and carried her back into the house because her collar would have just come right off otherwise.
That was just a fun story about my day. But, last night was even better.
See, many of my friends do not live in Vegas anymore so when one of my good buddies invited me to his small group last week I jumped at it and I'll tell you what, it was so nice to get into a small group again even though it is temporary. So last night I returned to the small group and we talked about something so important that I just knew I had to mention it here…DEATH
Or, to be less ambiguous, dying to oneself. Jesus said that "Anyone who looks to save his life will lose it but anyone who loses his life for my sake will find it." The question that we asked ourselves was are we willing to lose the distractions, the lifestyle, the perks, or even our physical lives in order to find what real life is like? That is a difficult question for anyone. And for me, as much as everyone who knows Jesus would think that they could say "Ya, I could do that hands down," I am not certain that I would really act that out. How many times have we forsaken the right thing for the easy thing or the thing that causes instant gratification? I cannot begin to count. I challenge you to do something that does not benefit yourself, in any way, sometime this week. Seek to understand how much life really means when it is given and not taken.
The Man With Unclean Lips,
Brandon Barnum
