When my mom’s friend comes over, we usually talk about religion and politics. Today we talked about the big question as to why some who were raised in the faith and/or practiced regularly stopped somewhere along the way and no longer go to church. We talked about several reasons why this might be – a lack of faith, misunderstanding of the beliefs and teachings, anger at the church or God, being drawn further into the culture of the current world. I feel it truly has everything to do with an individual’s personal relationship with God. A while back I saw a demonstration in which the presenter had a very long white rope. It wound all around the stage and eventually one end went out of sight. He held in his hand the other end of the rope which had a red tip about 6 inches long. He suggested that unfortunately, too many people focus on their lives in this world represented by the red tip. We forget that this life on this earth is only part of our existence. Once we die, we will live on in eternity represented by the rest of the white rope. What’s more, we can work like crazy for the first 5 inches of the red tip, determined to enjoy the last 1 inch of our lives, forgetting about the rest of the rope. Instead, we would do better if we recognized and remembered that our lives here are short and they should be spent working to enjoy eternity. And they way to do that is to nurture and grow in our relationship with God. I though it was a meaningful visual demonstration.

I Found God today remembering to try to live past the red tip of my life.