Friday, October 18, 2013

Anxious to Matter


            Years ago, that great movie “Pearl Harbor” came out.  It was about a couple of brash young fighter pilots and a nurse with whom both of them fell in love.  There was a fascinating scene as one of them, played by Ben Affleck, volunteers to serve in England, prior to America’s entrance into the war.  The “Brits” are in the middle of the battle and are being beaten.  Airplanes are returning with battle damage, and they are losing friends and fellow pilots daily. 

            Ben Affleck walks into that scene boldly.   He hasn’t even unpacked his bags as he approaches the weary squadron commander.  He tells him he wants to get up there right now and join the fight.  With fatigue in his voice the British Commander says, “Are all you Americans so anxious to die?”  After reflecting briefly, the young American pilot says, “Not anxious to die sir….just anxious to matter.”

            None of us today are in such a high stakes drama.  Our battles are generally tamer in nature.  All the same, I find that this young airman’s words strike a chord with most of us.  In the end, most of us want to matter.  We want to raise a family that is healthy and that stands for something in this world.  We want to leave our communities and this world a better place than what we found. 

            This general tendency is amplified in the Christian faith.  Our life is supposed to make a difference in this world.  Jesus said that we were the salt and light, the city on the hill.  As such, we are supposed to be a kingdom representative that makes the here and now more like the way it will be in eternity.  As such, we are anxious to matter.

            In the vein, please remember that this weekend in worship matters.  God has laid out incredible opportunities before us right now and in the coming year as Woodlake Church.  In worship, we are going to be placing our commitment cards on the altar.  Those may be simple pieces of paper but they represent our collective desire to make an eternal difference.  Those cards, like that young pilot, are our words to God saying we are “anxious to matter”. 

            I hope you will join me in praying for this weekend.  For several weeks we have been claiming that these two commitments will change your life.  I am confident that they will also play a premier role in helping our church to serve the kingdom in ways that matter eternally.  Thank you in advance for your participation in this important day!

In Christ,

Pastor Pete

No comments:

Post a Comment