Knights and Dragons

I watched a news report recently about a man diagnosed with cancer. He began one of these blogs to chronicle his journey through the muck and mire of illness to slay the dragon named cancer. I realized that this man had a purpose to his life-even if he didn’t want it, he had it. His purpose was to give voice to the millions of others who have donned their armor, mounted their horses, and set off from the safety of the castle to slay their cancer dragon.

I haven’t been given this man’s purpose but I am exploring what my battle cry will be which will compel me to leave the predictable life in the castle and venture off to slay my dragon. I really want to have purpose. I really want to be working towards something. I don’t want my days to turn into nights over and over again with no goal, no vision. I want my time on this planet to be helpful, useful, and bountiful.

All that talk about knights slaying dragons brings me to the idea of stewardship. No, really it does! What are you doing with the time you have left to live? Are you preparing for battle or are you enjoying your cushy castle life? Are you taking full advantage of what you have been given? As a pastor friend of mine says, “Your time, talents, and treasure?” No one knows exactly when his/her last breath will be blown. Jesus discusses the idea of stewardship over and over again in the gospels through parables.

My favorite parable dealing with stewardship is the one in Matthew 25 with the 3 workers who are given a portion of the profits to manage while the boss is away. There is one worker, seriously, who reminds me of Homer Simpson. I can just hear him now saying when the boss returns, “Doh!” He is the guy who took his money and buried it. I think this is a good lesson to us all- don’t dig a hole in your backyard, put your money in a container, and bury it.
Homer kept his money safe in the ground, not wanting anything to happen to it. Seems pretty safe, huh? Many of us have dug a hole in our backyards, put ourselves in a container, and have been buried. That is sad. It is sad to think there are a bunch of Homer Simpsons running around in the Church. God didn’t intend on us hiding but rather investing. He wants us to live productive lives of purpose.

The weak live their whole lives under the protection of routine and comfort- buried in a castle. The strong face their dragons. Purpose gives us a reason to armor up and step out into the unknown and fight whatever attacks us, or we may be pushed off the drawbridge and have to find our purpose once on the trail. Whichever comes first- One simply needs to inhale, exhale and yell, “Raise the gate.” What is your purpose? Do you know yet? What is compelling you to leave the comfortable cushy life in your castle and step out into the adventure?