I had a pretty good idea of what the people in each vehicle were thinking.
In one, there was the worry over what tomorrow holds. A loved one will go away and life will never be the same. He will leave behind the memories he has created, the love he has shown, and the impact he has made. Loss brings sadness. Change is never easy.
In the other, there was quiet celebration because, for her, tomorrow brings a better day. Life may not be the same, but it’s a wonderful journey nonetheless. Life is about being the person we are supposed to be, content in the completion of one season and confident in the anticipation of the next. Endings are only beginnings. Change is the only constant.
Oh wait. You thought worry and sadness had to do with the funeral, right?
That’s okay. Most people do.
Here’s a graduation speech I would love to make one day.
Or maybe I should say this is the funeral message I would love to preach.
Sometimes the worst thing that ever happens to us turns out to be the best thing that ever happens to us. Sometimes what seems really complicated is actually very simple. And sometimes when we do not consider the eternal perspective God wants for all of our lives, we find sadness when it might just be cause for celebration.
The Beatles sang a song 50 years ago called “Goodbye, Hello”:
“You say yes, I say no
You say stop and I say go go go, oh no
You say goodbye and I say hello…
Hello, hello
I don’t know why you say goodbye, I say hello”
Our lives are full of events that are in one way goodbyes, but in another hellos.
Graduates are frequently told, “Make every day count, because you never know when it will be your last.” So there is this consistent invitation to live a life of gusto, grabbing all that is possible and having as much fun that can be had, because one day this life will end, and that’s it.
I love the motivational essence of such a speech. That’s a whole lot better than, “Hey, you made it through high school! Now kick back and enjoy the spoils of life, because the world owes you a living.”
But I have a different take on that. I say, “Make every day count. Embrace all that life gives you – the good, the bad and the ugly…which you will have, no matter how hard you try to avoid them. But despite those terrible experiences, make the most of each day, NOT because it might be your last.
“Do it because you know this life ISN’T all there is.“
When you live life on Earth with the assurance that one day it can be replaced by life in heaven, you’ll have a comfort that allows you to get through anything you face here.
You can live peacefully in the place you have been put, with the people who have been put around you, and you can always feel secure in the knowledge that that that is good enough. You avoid all the anxiety of having to be CEO of a Fortune 500 company to feel successful, or owning the biggest house in town and driving the fanciest cars to feel that you have arrived.
If you’re blessed with all that, great. Enjoy. Be all that you were made to be.
But if you’re not, don’t be tempted to twist principles and manipulate people just to get what you want. You’re not a loser if life turns out differently than what you had planned. Remember you are the only you ever made, and the world needs you. And remember that life, warts and all, is still pretty good, and it's only made better at the notion it will one day be out of this world, if you will embrace the eternal perspective.
The price of eternal perspective is only a little bit of humility.
If I truly embrace that eternal perspective, I can more easily forgive today, because now the difficult people I encounter aren’t ruining my one and only life.
If I truly embrace that eternal perspective, I will find it easier to hold my anger, because I will realize it’s practically killing me and, all the while, doing absolutely nothing to the person I’m angry with.
If I truly embrace that eternal perspective, I live my life the same way I watch a mystery movie for the second time. There’s no need for anxiety and worry over how everything turns out, because I’ve seen the ending, and everything will be okay.
Hey, if you ask me, that’s something to celebrate. Tomorrow really is a better day, no matter what we face today.
So now let the party begin. Let me offer, first up, a Rascal Flatts’ remake of a song by the Edgar Winter Group 40 years ago, “Free Ride.”
“The mountain is high, the valley is low
And you’re confused on which way to go
But I’ve come here to give you a hand
And lead you into the Promised Land.
“So, come on and take a free ride…”