The Sure Foundation

Sometime back, a friend was telling me about the summer after his father’s retirement party. His dad had held a prominent position with a big corporation, and that first summer he just went into this deep depression. My friend said it was like his dad woke up one morning and he realized he was no longer Chief Financial Officer – he was just another retiree at his country club. His identity was completely tied up in his work, and when it was time to retire, what was left? 

Sometimes we cling to a certain identity. And that identity may come from our job; or perhaps our political leanings, or perhaps our ability to make money, or even perhaps our identity as parents.

Over the years, I’ve known people who have given everything they are, everything they have into raising their children. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. But for some people, it’s like that’s the only thing they lived for making sure the children could have what they couldn’t have – or being what they couldn’t be. If the children don’t live up to it – or when they move away – they are left empty. 

Imagine two different families, same town, same day. In one house, when the last child leaves, the husband says, “Honey, lock the doors! We’re going to celebrate!” But in another house, across town, on that same day, when the last child leaves, there is silence, emptiness – because husband and wife haven’t really talked in years. The children have been the only connection they’ve shared, and there’s no other foundation. 

What happens to the person whose identity and meaning are wrapped up in their career when they are downsized or face retirement? What happens to the person whose self-worth is tied up in their physical appearance as they grow older? Or, to the person whose hope for the future is that retirement account when the stock market falls or the medical bills begin to eat up the savings?

Yesterday, we read a passage of scripture in which the Apostle Paul reminds us that these things are fleeting… We don’t know how long they are with us.

It’s not that these things are necessarily bad in and of themselves. In fact, some of them make life rich. It’s just that Paul desperately wants the Corinthians (and us) to place our ultimate hope in something much more solid – something much bigger. And that is in Christ.

A couple of weeks ago, I was at a Wednesday evening dinner, and a friend of our church said to me, “Joe, the main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.” 

So true. 

What is the main thing, for you?

Let us pray: We remember that Jesus said that he came that we might have life – and have it in abundance… Help us to keep you at the heart and center of our lives, O God, that abundant life would be ours; through Jesus Christ. Amen.