A New Name in Glory

Every so often there are events that remind us of our human frailty. These events can either inspire us to live life in a way in which we experience all of the beauty and majesty that is life, or they can darken our days and cause deep inner turmoil.

I have experienced two of these events this past week and am probably failing to live life to its fullest.

Aaron Calderon was one of my coaches. Throughout high school I had quite a few coaches, due largely to the fact that I played three sports. Each coach was a treasure and a joy to have. Someone older (sometimes a lot older) who would invest their time and energy into teaching me and my teammates the joys of working hard and together toward a common goal. Aaron was one of these men. Coach Calderon, as I called him, loved all sports. His heart was intense for competition. Yet his devotions lied in his family and in his faith. What will always stick out to me about Coach Calderon is a conversation I had with him on a trip up to play either North County Christian School, or the school in Cambria we used to play. We were in the blue van that the school used and we were talking about things spiritual. I was sitting, not up front, but in the first row of the back seats. He was seated up in the passenger seat. It was then that he turned around and asked me a question, "When does eternal life start?" I answered quickly and without much thought, "I suppose once we die." He looked at me with a smirk and said, "No, actually eternal life starts the day you become a Christian." The truth of his statement was undeniable and this truth has already had a lasting impact on my ministry. Just this past Tuesday I received news that Coach Calderon had died. He wasn't old at all, his children are all younger than I am. My heart breaks for the family. I look at his life and I see a man who worked hard so that his family could have a better life. He would work a night job and another job, just to support his family. On top of providing for his family, he would spend time coaching and mentoring. I now trust that his life has continued into glory, that he has passed through this life and found Jesus waiting for him. I can imagine him hearing the words from our Father, 'Well done, my faithful servant.' And I can see him saying, "I knew my life was just beginning."

Thursday of this week I had the joy to bless residents at a nursing home. Older people generally don't scare me much anymore. I have preached at a church for nearly 3 years whose congregation is quite a bit older than what I am used to. While at this nursing home I saw people who were succumb to the tortures of loneliness and feelings of uselessness. I saw people whose lives had been full of children, ministry, travel, and hard work brought down to states just a little better than being vegitated. This nursing home is a 'Christian' one and has many saints who have walked the path before me. Many of these people have had influence at OCC and have paved the way for generations to come. Yet I saw what scares us younger people in the eyes of these older ones. We are weak. We spend our lives trying to deny that fact. We grow up and support ourselves to show that we are not weak, but it is a farce. We pretend to be strong in work and in play, but we are just covering up the weaknesses below. All the while in the back of our minds we know that our pseudo-strength is only temporary, we know that we will fall into the hands of time and old age. We know that we can never escape the end that hunts us. We eat healthy to avoid it. We excercise to build up our strength to fight against it. We even have surgeries to hide it when it gets too close for comfort. But it is there, our weakness staring us in the face. When we are confronted with the pains and struggles of old age, our hearts quiver in fear. We cower and flea, hopeing that old age didn't see us, knowing that it did. We are afraid that in our old age we will again be weak. Not just physically, but emotionally. We are afraid that we will lose our importance to the world, our significance to the people we are closest to. So we shy away and hide. We avoid conversations with those who are older to again cover up the fact that we are weak.

But there is beauty to life (especially eternal life). There is vibrancy in color, there is wonder in creation, there is elegence in language, there is joy in people, there is hope. The blood that flowed from Calvary has not left us unchanged, it has not left us only to suffer at the hands of our enemy. We are empowered to live, create, and just be. We can smell the breeze, taste the sunlight, embrace the moonlight, and intake all of the wonderful matchless beauties that are on this earth. We can life like there is no tomorrow, because life is only today. Life is what we are doing at the time. Building a future, reconstructing the past, being in the present life is a gift and a gift that is meant to be used well. May I be inspired to live, may I be challenged to breath in the breath of fresh air and experience life abundant.