What Brings You Life?

If I was asked to make a list of my most favorite things to do, lawn maintenance would not be anywhere on that list. Mowing is not something I jump out of bed in morning excited to do. Actually, I usually put it off as long as I possibly can. I'm not sure, why I dislike it so much, it's not like it's really hard work. You just push a mower around the lawn a few times, and then spend a few minutes with a weed-eater and that's about it. It doesn't take a lot of skill or brain power, but, for whatever reason, I just don't get a kick out of it. That being said, I found myself this past week really getting into it. I would even go so far as to say, I found joy in it. Wait a minute, did I really just say that? Its true though, I found myself mowing more this week, and finding pleasure in doing so.

What's my secret? Did I get a riding lawnmower? Not hardly. I actually just mowed for someone else. I mowed a couple of yards this week in an effort to help out a few people who needed a hand. In doing so, I truly found enjoyment. Now, you and I both know that I didn't all of a sudden take a liking to something that I normally don't like at all. The truth is that in doing something for someone else, we find life for ourselves. Its in those moments, when we lay our life down and live our life for someone else that we truly find fulfillment in living. Jesus said it like this, "whoever saves his life will lose it and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it." We've probably all had moments when we've found joy and fulfillment doing something for someone else. Times when we have stepped out of ourselves and found this powerful statement by Jesus to be so true. Why is it then that we so quickly go right back to living our lives for ourselves? I mean if we find this kingdom living to be so fulfilling, what is it in us that causes us to revert back to a way of life that is not fulfilling at all? I don't know about you, but I want to strive for that life that fulfills. That life that Jesus talks about. That life that he modeled. Of course I know its a journey and we don't arrive overnight, but hopefully tomorrow we'll be a little further down the road than we are today.

Oh yeah, and if you're wondering, no I'm not coming over to mow your yard this week.