harbarger theory: there's always a "now what"

harbarger theory: there's always a "now what"

One of the dirty little secrets about pastors is that we're usually exhausted by the time Easter's over. The whole process of getting ready for these powerful and holy times of worship like Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, SONRise Service and, of course, Easter worship services tend to wipe ... us ... out. At least ... it does to me.

It sort of reminds me of what the Disciples went through after that first Easter ... but maybe theirs had a LOT more confusion and more overwhelming.

Their Lord ... their Messiah ... their inspiration ... their everything had died. He was gone. They had no idea that he was coming back. He was just ... gone.

Then ... he CAME BACK!!! Can't you imagine what was buzzing about in their brains? Wha?? How can this ...? I can't believe ...! I'm not sure they could have even finished a sentence. At the same time ... life was going on.

So, the question came percolating up. What's next? How do I live now that my Lord has resurrected? In their case, they changed the whole world, spent their life at it and then gave their lives for it.

In my case, what do I do next? Where do I lead next? What do I throw the weight of my attention to? How do I spend my time? What gets my attention?

Hmmmmm. Good questions. I know where I want to go in general. I want to be an even better husband and father and son. I want to lead the church I serve where it needs to go next. I want to continue to try to figure out how to find life balance between ministry, family and personal time. I've never been good at that last one. But maybe .... maybe not!! = )

In the end, my "now what" is to live a life that is reflective of the resurrection. You know, second (and third and fourth and fifth and ...) chances. Treating all people as if they are worthy of the the Son of God giving his life for them ... without exception. Making reconciliation a lifestyle, not a task. Finding joy in the darkness, peace in the storm, love in the loneliness. My 'now what" is to focus on sweating the big stuff and focusing my life on what God declares is important.

What is your "now what?" How will you live out the Resurrection? How?