Your Life Matters

 

I was about to leave the men’s rest room when I noticed the young man at the sink, and I told him that I felt compelled to say: “Your life matters.”  He said thank you with a slight smile, and I walked out.

Earlier, as I was driving around doing my Thursday afternoon grocery deliveries, I had recalled some of the nice notes I had received with Christmas cards, people reminding me that they fondly recalled events that had happened in their lives, because God had made us cross paths.  For some, it was a little event (and still is), and for others it was embedded in their hearts.  One wrote “I am grateful I met you 20 years ago when …” and then described the time and place we had met. 

I’ve reflected before about how our lives matter.  We are not in outer space, living alone with no one near us.  Whether we want to or not, we impact people around us.  We’re part of God’s master plan, and because we’ve impacted some people, God can now use them in ways that were not possible, if we had not planted a seed for His grace to water.  I think we’d all like to see the results of any seeds we planted, especially if the results are what we wanted.  But … then in our pride we might think “I made that happen.”  But as I and you know only too well, much of what we want to make happen in this world is not what happens.  We are not in control.  (And, often we think “it’s their fault things didn’t happen the way I wanted.”}  It’s kind of funny to think:  our lives matter, and yet we are not in control.  But we are in control of our actions, just not the outcomes; because yes, they may be impacted by someone else, or God.  Which begs the question:  How can I influence God or someone else to help bring about the outcome I desire?

Now, that’s a question that’s easy to answer: “I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you should also love one another!” (Jn 13,34).  Will that get the outcome we want?  No, because while “our lives matter, we are not in control”.  The one commandment Jesus gave us, the new commandment, was to love as He loved.  Then, God’s plans will be brought about.  And by our loving actions we help bring about HIS plan, not ours.  Like the Christmas notes I received, people long remember how our lives had intersected, with love.  And when we die, memories like those will remain, for love never dies,  We join God; and God IS love.