"God's divine Power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness." 2 Peter 1:3
We live in a culture that is in denial of limits. In all likelihood we would not be in a recession if we had practiced limits financially. Easy credit made it easy for us to spend an average of $1.22 for every dollar we made. Today over 70% of us live paycheck to paycheck. And many of us know someone or have ourselves experienced the crisis of that no limit life-style when our job is downsized or terminated.
But our culture denies limits in other ways too. We are obsessed with finding ways to do more in less time. I suppose a big reason for this is related to our lack of limits financially. I'll confess to being enamored with everybody else over the latest electronic devices and social media. They are entertaining and do help make simple communication quicker. But without limits, these gadgets turn the lost art of listening, intimacy and being into something entirely extinct. Doing more in less time may be a value of our culture, but I'm not sure it's a value of the Kingdom of God.
During the last month as my father in law approached the end of his life, it occurred to me that I do not like the reality that our life has limits. While none of us want to see those we love go through prolonged pain, a part of us also wishes for a longer limit on life. I think the intense commitment that our culture has made to find a cure for cancer is an expression of this desire to extend our limits in life. I know that my father in law lived longer because of the cancer treatments he received. I am grateful for that! But I can also tell you that I am equally grateful for the day that he made the decision to limit any more treatment so that he could practice those lost arts of listening, intimacy and being with the time he had left. A life in denial of limits is no life at all. I think he knew that.
I am extremely grateful for the grace of a Church that resists a culture that lives in denial of limits. I don't mean to imply that people in the Church don't struggle with denial of limits. I just mean that I'm grateful for a Church that gives us help practicing limits through things like Sabbath, accountable friendships, worship of the triune God, devotional Bible reading, just to name a few.
At the end of my days, whether that's today, tomorrow or many days from now, I want to be able to say with the writer of 2 Peter, "I have everything I need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called me by His own glory and goodness." I have everything I need, no matter what is left on my "to do list."
I need to keep practicing limits so I'll be able to do that. How about you?
