I have never met a single person who didn’t want to be remembered. There is this part of us that, as we age, realizes that life is short and a lot of what we do falls into the past without even a ripple on the surface. This bothers us because we were made to live forever. As many times as atheists and agnostics say, “When your candle goes out – POOF! that’s it!” – our hearts say, “I don’t believe that for a second!” Of course, that raises a question; if we actually believe that life here could be compared to a dot on a rope that starts here and extends to the farthest parts of the universe and beyond – why do we treat the “dot” as if it’s all we have? See, the truth is that not only do we live forever- – very person with whom we lock eyes – and even those we don’t see – live forever, too. With knowing the truth that Jesus taught us about life, about finding life, about giving life – and about life forever – comes a responsibility. The responsibility we have is to pass on Jesus’ invitation to live forever.

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The basic concept behind mining is that someone, maybe God, has placed things in the dirt, in the mountains, in the riverbeds, or on the floor of the Bering Sea – and I’m going to get it before anyone else does! Cuz, see, once I take it…it’s gone! To mine, you usually have to get dirty – really dirty – and distinguish the good stuff – ore, coal, minerals – from the waste. Planting is way different.Planting takes work, too – a lot of it. But planting depends on the regenerative power of life to create something. We work the dirt, cultivate the soil, fertilize – weed out all the other stuff looking for space, water and sunlight – and then? HARVEST! Out of seeds that look all shriveled and dry and lifeless – comes bread, vegetables, oil, fruit – all the stuff that keeps us alive!
The deal is – we have this one chance – in this life – to plant more than just food. Truth is – we plant something every day – and what we plant has the potential – as all seeds do – to grow way more, over time, than we’d ever dream. The problem is that planting always takes patience…and faith.We’re grateful for what we have – the potential is to be grateful forever for what we’ve planted!

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When you ask kids in high school what they want out of life – the sky’s the limit as far as they’re concerned. And that’s what you hear; “I want to be a famous musician – own a big business – design video games – be a world-class athlete or surgeon – visit exciting places and do exciting things!” Sometimes, by our 30s, our dreams become a little more modest; “I want to have a nice home, a job I love, be healthy, look great – and have a fantastic person in my life and raise a great family!” Let’s say you have all that. You’re able to buy and actually pay for a nice home; and you have a satisfying job that pays well – and you have a mostly nice family – a body that’s as healthy as you’ll let it be – and people generally say nice things about you.  Would you settle for that?
Without putting any of those things down – cuz they’re good things – What if there’s MORE? Way more! See, that’s the American Dream or the Canadian Dream – and lots of people achieve it – whatever they believe. The problem is that is’s mostly centered on the 70-80-90 years we have here on this planet, and nothing more. And at the end of everyone’s life – there’s a STOP sign – and, as good as it’s been, we live it all behind. Jesus taught that there’s way, way more than we would ever dream. Some believe that…and some live it!

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