It ain't things

Romans 8:12-25

          When I went to the Dominican Republic for the first time as a volunteer a friend  took it upon himself to use his influence to get us bumped up to first class on the flight.  We were on the tarmac before even taking off, sipping mimosas  as we were departing to work with some of the poorest people in the world. The contrast seems ironic.  This seemed to me to be a good metaphor for our entire life. The people of the DR are friendly and faithful. They know what is truly important. The same is true for us, our goal in life is not to amass wealth or things, our goal, our destiny is that we are heirs to the kingdom and one with God. It is certainly not a kingdom like anything here on planet Earth.

            The fact that we enjoyed the mimosas before heading to our faithful journey of service is that contrast.  In life we are graced with so much, especially here in these United States. There is a really fine line between enjoying those gifts, appreciating them and placing them in proper perspective and what are true goal in life is and what truly brings us happiness and wholeness.

            They say hearses don't have luggage racks and it's true. It certainly won't matter to a dead person what kind of coffin they are in or how their body gets to wherever it is headed.  The dead person will not even appreciate if it's potters field or some ostentatious mausoleum.

               So while I can fully appreciate all the gifts I have been graced with I know it is not my true happiness and I should never get too comfy. I should never think that they are the happiness in and of themselves.

              After I realized I was gay I was in deep trouble emotionally. Being the decent fellow I am I had some difficult choices to make. It seemed that no matter what I decided to do it was going to bad. This is the stuff suicide is contemplated over, thought it is never the answer, no matter have difficult it seems. In the end I left my home and left my church, my family and everything I knew. I left with an armoire and lot of books and not much else. Oh, and a scrabble board. I came to the realization that none of the stuff I had made me happy. I would willingly give up everything, leaving my house and considerable money to my ex-wife. The books I took related to my faith and my journey. In the end I suppose I didn't even need them because my faith is not found inside a book, it is in me, in my soul, in my head and in my heart. That is the most important.

                 In intentionally offering up everything I have gained many things. One is the appreciation of what is truly important, my faith and my destiny. Another is the gift of who I am, a gay man, revelling in the joys of how God made me and what it means to be a gay man. Another is that my children did not turn their backs on me as happens with some people.  My 'kids' have embraced me, loved me, love my husband  and we are still a family.

              Through all the joys and all the graces, I know what is most important. It ain't things.

            

So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh --

for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!"

it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ--if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us.

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God;

for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope

that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now;

and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?

But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.