I was a nerd in school. I was a flirt and I loved all of teachers and they loved me. When I was in second grade one of the administrators leaned into my ear and whispered that I was going to be a "lady killer." When I asked her what that meant she told me I would figure it out when I was older. Well I don't know if that ever came true but I was blessed with the gift of charm that has gotten me both into and out of troublesome places. I was thinking back to my school years because it is the favorite time for all adults that live with children in their houses--back to school time. Occasionally my nieces would bring home papers that needed to be signed by their parents--spelling lists, test scores, progress reports, etc. I though that was great because it helps hold the kids accountable for their work and their progress in school. It must be a great feeling to carry home a piece of paper bearing a good test score or a positive progress report home to be signed by your parents. (I wouldn't really know--I forged most of my needed signatures when I was in school.) I can imagine that the paper must be heavy with pride in the backpack and the kid almost unable to contain the excitement and joy they feel as the recipient of such a good thing. Then just as I can imagine the joy I can almost imagine what it would be like to have to drag home a poor test score to be signed by your parents or having to have them sign a note that told of your poor behavior in class. Imagining your parents disappointment in your behavior and then having to receive any discipline that comes with the note that you had to bring home.
What if as adults we had to apply this principle to our discipleship walk. What if we had to take our completed days to God and have Him sign them for us? It would be awesome to be able to show Him your faithfulness and your dedication to the calling He placed on your life. What a great thing to be able to say that you are on track to complete all the tasks He has given you to do in your lifetime. We would be excited then to get God's signature on our days, because we wold know that He would be pleased with us. Now what if the situation was different. What if we had to show God our day and in it there was listed all the times we had the chance to use our gifts or our talents that He gave us and we didn't? What would it feel like if we had to show God all the time we spent being out of His will for our lives or just chose to be disobedient to Him? It wouldn't feel so good then, nor would we be so eager to take our days to Him to be signed off.
Now consider this. We do have to take our days to God and have Him sign them off. Whether it will be a positive experience for us or one that we missed altogether will be dependant on how we live out our days now. When we leave this earth we will be held accountable for the lives we have led on earth while we were here. We will have to answer for all the time we spent out of His will for our lives, for all of our compromises and all of the times we squandered the gifts He placed in our lives to be used for Him. Just the thought of that day pushes me into accountability mode.
Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
Mike
Here is the song that put me into my current thoughtfulness:
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