“Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those
who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.” John
12:25 (NLT) This verse jumped off the
page at me and my thoughts were flooded with questions, the biggest of which
were: What does loving your life in this
world look like, and how does caring nothing for it work?
From the moment I met him, I knew instantly that Tyler was a
special young man. Special enough that I once told him that I wished he were
triplets because I’ve got two daughters that I’d like to introduce him to.
My first interaction with Tyler was when he approached me
after church in July 2013. He had just moved to Manhattan from Ames, Iowa. He
had finished an undergraduate degree at Iowa State and was in Manhattan to
pursue a graduate degree from Kansas State.
Unlike most students, at the top of his priority list upon
arriving in Manhattan was finding a church to attend. And again unlike most,
his agenda after church was to find out how to get plugged in and become a part
of a church family. I invited him to attend our small group and from there our
friendship blossomed.
Caitlin moved to Wamego in August of 2013. They weren’t
engaged as of yet, but that was in the works. So she wanted to be close by.
Within a year Tyler proposed marriage and in a few days (June 2015) their lives
as husband and wife will finally begin.
The other day I told Tyler and Caitlin that I’d be at his apartment
at 9am. They were merging two households just prior to their wedding day – by
the way this is becoming rare, as the merging of households is more often done without
regard to a wedding these days – and they had some things they wanted to give
to a single mom who might need some help.
Again unlike many, Tyler understood the plight of a mom who
has to raise children on her own. He grew up in a single parent home after his
dad had made choices that removed him from the picture. So, Tyler wanted take the
duplicates from merging households and give them to a single mom who had a
need.
So we spent a couple of hours together loading and
unloading. And, later, as I considered the “stuff” in my garage, it hit
me… God had arranged for some of my
questions from earlier in the day to be answered.
I had just experienced an example of living without caring
for life in this world. Some of the things given away could have been sold. But
instead and more important, they were being used to glorify God and bless
another.
I have witnessed a life of integrity that shines a spotlight
on God’s greatness. And I saw a young man who cared for others by being
observant, generous and loving. A young man in his early twenties, and his
sweet fiancé brought me a lesson the other day…
“Those who love their life in this world will lose it. Those
who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.” John
12:25 (NLT)
Ron
