Monday, August 17, 2009

Tell Me Who You Are

If you had one message that summarized your life, what would it be? What is your lifework? When you die (face it, girls, it will happen), what do you think people will remember you loving the most?

Back in February, when my brother was in the hospital after his accident, I met a lady who was a volunteer clerk at a local hospitality-home for hospital families. We spoke only briefly—just long enough for her to ask why we were there. “My sixteen year old brother was in an ATV accident.”

I remember the woman because her response was unusual. She didn’t ask how it happened. She didn’t reply with that oh-so-aggravating response, “Well, he should be more careful next time.” Instead, she nodded her head knowingly. She asked if he’d be okay. I shrugged. “We’re trusting God. We’re thankful he’s alive right now, but we don’t know…”

The lady quizzed me further, nodding some more. She explained that she’d lost two friends in the past year to ATV accidents. With an outburst of energy she exclaimed, “You need to go on a national crusade! Get on ABC! Get on the news! Let people know how dangerous those things really are.”

Unsure how to respond, I remember smiling and saying something noncommittal. “I’ll definitely tell the people I know…”

She had a point. Countless stitches, hospital days, and some research later, I’ve learned that there are major legal battles ensuing as we speak regarding the safety and stability of certain ATV designs. My brother and his friend weren’t even speeding when their vehicle wrecked. The government is currently investigating certain companies involved in ATV production.

These findings are more than enough fuel for a national campaign. So, why not?

The truth is, if I had one message I wanted to champion, if I could tell you one thing, I would want it to be a fact of critical importance. I’d want to pour all my passion into that message. I’d shake my soul awake for the sake of heralding this one thing. It’d have to be more than a life or death issue. It’d have to be an eternal one.

If you have a single message communicated by your life, what is it? I’m talking seriously here—not what you ideally would want your life to communicate. What do you communicate? Legalism? Fear of condemnation from God? An obsession with people and things? Foolishness? Or do you exude love? Do you think it's obvious from the way you live that you maintain a Big Picture view of life? What defines you?