"WHOEVER TRIES TO SAVE HIS LIFE WILL LOSE IT." Who are you? I understand these words better today than I ever have before. When difficult times come, who we are is defined more critically than ever. And I'm not talking about difficult times for ourselves, but for others. I think it's fair to say, and most will agree that our lives amount to a series of choices which bring us to the place we are now, or will be in future. Whatever criteria we use to make those choices, the consequences of them, and even the act of making them develops our character. I am the person I am today, believing what I believe and being in my current situation because of choices I've made. That's not to say I had all the power, but it was my free will. Both the darkness and the light inside me can be traced through veins and roots of choices, consequences, choices, consequences. Our characters are being defined right now, all of ours. This is pretty straightforward stuff. If somebody reaches out a hand to you in need and you turn away, what happens to your heart? More and more, people around the world are being faced with these choices daily. Every day we hear more about refugees, the homeless, suffering children, war. And more and more we hear about people hardening their hearts, contriving the most selfish excuses not to help. Here's one truth I see pretty clearly; this country is not going to remain a cottage garden postcard full of middle class prosperous white people merrily flag-waving and defending it's borders while the world outside descends into chaos. We all need to make a concerted effort to make up our minds right now WHO we are going to be. The world is changing. We cannot save our lives, we are all going to die. So while we live, who are we going to be? While people are suffering and drowning, are we going to harden our hearts with excuses about their politics? Their poor life-choices? Their demands on our welfare system? Or are we going to make our lives worth something, are we going to choose to care? Because that means letting go. It means letting go of fantasies about what we think life should be about, it might mean opening our homes, it might mean sharing our food, it might mean sharing our money. It means releasing ourselves from the need to hold on the useless things of no value which we can't take with us and paying more heed to the one thing we will, namely our soul. I believe that every time we choose not to love and not to care, and choose to let others suffer and die in order to protect our status quo, whatever we think that is, then part of us dies. I don't mean that poetically, I mean it literally. I think the world is full of people like that, walking dead, heartless people who are the very best at talking sense. I think that's what Jesus means. If our purpose in life is to protect ourselves, serve ourselves and ensure our lives remain as we would comfortably hope them to be, we simply kill the part of us which is of any value at all. I'm going to die one day, and when I do I really hope that the world is better for having had me in it, and not worse. Right now is a defining time in world history. On your deathbed, if you are asked 'Who were you?' what would you like to be able to say? I am somebody who fed those in need? I am somebody who shared my home with desperate people? I am somebody who tried to help when it cost me a great deal to do it, even my life? Or do you hope to say 'I am somebody who ended up with a nice car parked outside this hospital.' or 'I am somebody who upgraded the locks on my doors so I could shut the world out and keep everything I have for myself.' I'm saying all this now because this is creeping up on all of us. Many of us have already chosen. But the time is close, even right at the door, when 'who we are' is going to be demanded of us. We need to make up our minds.
