Good morning! Mer and I continue to try our best to teach our son how to live in a way that honors God and respect others. One simple thing that I have always taught him, is to hold the door for someone if they are entering a building behind us. To many people, doing something like this is such a simple task, but not for me… Here are the things that run through my mind:
- If I hold the door for someone and then someone else is not too far away from entering, do I continue to hold the door waiting for them or just catch up with my family?
- If I hold the door for someone and there is an infinite line of people trying to enter, how long do I wait for someone to take my place? And what if no one does?
- I often think about how many people will just walk through the door without even saying, “Thank you.” Is it really that hard?
- But then there are those people that you hold the door for, and you just turned their whole day around; making them feel like someone special!
A couple of weeks ago, my brother and his family came to visit. Because we live in NY – where the BEST bagels are – we normally end up getting them for breakfast on Saturday morning. When we walked in, I held the door for my family and noticed another gentleman walking through the parking lot towards the bagel store. I waited the extra ten seconds (which often feels like an eternity) so that I could say ‘good morning’ and show him the love of God by holding the door for him. I wish you could have seen his face! He was so appreciative and he made me feel like I was doing something ‘different’; something he wasn’t used to.
These are the small moments that matter so much! By the way of the world, is that something I had to do? Of course not – it’s not like he was walking in right behind me or even close. But it was an opportunity to make a difference in the life of a complete stranger. This interaction reminded me of a verse in the Bible.
“Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.”
Psalm 84:10
Think about how humbling the position of being a doorkeeper is, especially when not shown one of the simplest forms of appreciation by someone uttering the words, ‘Thank you.’ If it meant being close to God, the psalmist expresses his willingness to do anything.
What are you willing to do to be close to the people you love? Wouldn’t you be willing to do just about anything to be near them? I remember one time when Mer and I were dating, we lived in separate states and I wanted to surprise her by just showing up one day. This is when I was young and dumb and didn’t truly understand what NY traffic really was. As soon as I got off of the Garden State Parkway and onto the Staten Island Expressway, it was bumper to bumper all the way to her house. This two hour ride took me close to five hours… but it was worth it, because I was able to spend time with my girl!
When we have experienced the love of God for ourselves, this same willingness to do absolutely anything to be close to Him and spend time with Him should be evident in the decisions we make and the things we do. I get it – life is busy; but I’ve heard someone say that people make time for the things that are important to them. I would have to agree with this statement. When I really want to do something, I figure out a way to do it – no matter what the cost! The value I find in that thing is greater than the loss of my time, effort, and finances.
One day in God’s Presence is better than a thousand anywhere else! Let that reverberate for a minute and ask yourself – is this truth reflected in my life?
How much time do we spend on things that do not matter in the view of eternity? I know for me, too much time! Let’s choose to make God our top priority today, letting nothing hold us back from spending time in His Presence!
Heavenly Father, thank You for how much You value each one of us! You held nothing back to make a way for us to have a restored relationship with You – You gave Your one and only Son to take the punishment we deserved so that we could be with You forever! Help us to look at the things we value and reprioritize them so that You are at Your rightful place, number one! In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 