Let Me Draw Closer

I once had riches, holding articles others sought to gain. I once had a fame, walking neither height nor ground where my existence was non-existent. I once had mentors of great renown, acquiring a wealth of knowledge that drew envy. I once had many a thing. Yet what I had, others had too, and more. Electronic devices, jewelry and precious stones, carvings of the greater woods, designer clothing, vintage and sport cars.

We may hoard many things in life. Yet all things will come to pass. In time, circuits will fail us, silver will lose its shine, the oaks will come asunder, moths will feed on Prada and Ralph Lauren, Lamborghini plate-works will rust. Nothing lasts forever.

I may hold items of great value and beauty. Yet these are all temporal. Let all of my treasures flow out of the chest, let them all slip through my hands. For there is only one thing whose value is eternal. It does not dull with time. It is the one thing that I desire. A relationship with the Almighty God.

I live my life on that foundation. All things will come to pass, for nothing lasts forever. Every golden artifact will be lost, every success will be taken away. Time will place its hand on all life and all of life's possessions. Every statue's face will misshapen, every name will be forgotten.

Let me not hoard riches for mine keepsake. If I am given a coin, it is not mine, but merely having been placed upon my palm. All that I hold, I have not earned. For what I have taken, can be taken away. And so too, what is given. In taking, we are doing wrong, it would not in accordance with His purpose. For we should wait for God's timing, and receive with thanksgiving whatever He has given. Taking we should never commit, yet receiving has to be done in the right manner. Whatever we receive, we know in our hearts that we did not earn. Whatever we did not earn, we did not deserve. Yet all good things are from Him Above, so everything we have, we have received. I did not pick up the coin. It was placed onto my hand. Everything good I shall use for the furtherance of His kingdom.

Let me not pursue success blindly. I have made claims, and I mean to abide by them. I live my life centered around His purpose. If I had found success, it would be because He saw fit that it should be so, and that it would further serve His purpose. Wherever I stand, whatever the ground my feet walk upon, firm or loose, good or bad, it would be part of His plan. If I wish for an eternal relationship for Him, I should dedicate all of me to Him. At this point of my life, this would include my academic pursuit. What a hypocrite I would be if I slogged for my personal comfort, for my future, for my eligibility for a spouse, or any other reason or cover. These are fine things to seek, and I believe it is fine to seek them. Yet if they are not given, they should not be taken. For to take, would require the abandonment of the relationship with Him. What greater hypocrite I would be if I claim to be His servant, yet stop doing His work in favour of other pursuits.

We cannot say that we will leave His service, for just a little while, so that we can pursue our studies true and clear. Besides, there are other things in life that we could put aside for a time. If someone chose such a choice, and all he did was study, then I would have nothing to say. Though I would still think that leaving His service at any time would be a disfavour to Him and also to ourselves. But most of us would be lying if we made such a choice. For we would put Him aside, and still continue running amok with our acquaintances, indulging in our hobbies, and pursuing relationships with the opposite gender. There are many things in life to put aside in troubled times before we even start to consider to put aside God.

There will always be things to pursue in life. These things will never cease intruding into our lives. To say that the current pursuit, would be our very last, would be saying a lie. For these are two opposite paths, His chosen path and the path of the world. To walk down one way is to walk away from the other. There is no other way about it. If one's walk is not correct, and yet persists in his folly, is he not showing contempt for his Creator? There is only one direction in life that is right, and that is the path towards the gateway of heaven. There is no other way about it. I pray that I will constantly walk down the right path in the right direction, without veering to the left or to the right. There is only one solid ground. Let me give up all things if they prevent me from attaining a relationship with my Lord. Let me draw closer to Him, now and forever.


Johnston