聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 A man staying at an inn asked the front desk to give him a wake-up call. Next morning when the phone rang a voice hollered, 鈥淲hat are you doing with the rest of your life?鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Talking about wake-up calls: 鈥淎lfred Nobel dropped the newspaper and put his head in his hands. It was 1888. Nobel鈥� made his fortune inventing and producing dynamite. His brother Ludvig had died in France. But now Alfred's grief was compounded by dismay. He'd just read an obituary in a French newspaper, which was not his brother's obituary, but his!
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淎n editor had confused the brothers. The headline read, 鈥楾he Merchant of Death Is Dead.鈥� Alfred Nobel's obituary described a man who had gotten rich by helping people kill one another. Shaken by this appraisal of his life, Nobel resolved to use his wealth to change his legacy.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲hen he died eight years later, he left more than $9 million to fund awards for people whose work benefited humanity. The awards became known as the Nobel Prizes,鈥� said a quote from The Treasure Principle聽by Randy Alcorn.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 You and I may not want a similar wake up call. I had one in 2009 when I was diagnosed with cancer. For a while I would look into a room where my family was celebrating a meal and think about what it would be like when I was an observer from another realm.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Believe me when I say that my focus on life sharpened. What a gift it was when surgery removed my cancer. Now I can continue life with a deeper appreciation and a stronger purpose.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 One area of our lives that requires commitment and focus is our Sunday morning obligation to go to church. 鈥淜eep holy the Sabbath鈥� is a commandment God gave us, and it really is important to the continued nourishment of our spirit. An analogy comes to mind.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Food and drink are essential for survival. As a boy on the farm I helped with the chores on days when the temperature was 40 degrees below zero. No matter how cold, we followed the ritual of feeding and watering the livestock.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 We would chip ice out of the frozen trough to make room for the water. We would pour boiling water into the pump to thaw it. Then we would pump water for the cattle and horses that were brought from the barn and hurried them back to it after a brief drink.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The cattle and we never argued or said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 too cold to go out. I鈥檇 rather just rest today.鈥�
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 That sounds familiar to our Sunday morning excuses. Yes, I鈥檓 talking about the need for spiritual food and drink. I won鈥檛 belabour the understanding of this message.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I am reminded of the story of one worshipper who thanked the minister after the homily and said, "Thanks for the message, Reverend. You must be smarter than Einstein."
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Beaming with pride, the minister said, "Why, thank you, brother! Exactly what do you mean when you say I must be smarter than Einstein?"
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 "Well, Reverend, they say that Einstein was so smart that only 10 people in the world could understand him. But Reverend, no one can understand you."
