Michael Mudgett's Blog
A Message of Hope
November 30, 2009
Hope Discovered
I'll never forget one of the last things my dad told me. He knew he was dying. He was under hospice care. As he lay in bed with his body filled with cancer he said, "Mike, it's all about love isn't it." It wasn't a question. It was an epiphany. During his life, his focus had been on money and status. A few days after he said this, dad died. During the last few days of his life, he couldn't' tell his ten children enough how much he loved them. These were new words for him.
Mom is nearing the end of her life. She's down to 90 pounds and cancer is spreading throughout her body. When I visited her recently, I asked her, "Mom, what's the most important thing to you now?" She said, "Family! Family is most important."
When all the game is taken out of life and we're held to account, the priorities in life seem to boil down to loving relationships. At least that was true for my parents. In my gut, I believe they're right though I would add God to the list: God and loving relationships.
Hope Taught
Why? God is love. And our triune God is all about relationship. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in perfect relationship: perfect unity. A loving relationship, or love-in-relationship, is Godly in nature, and we're blessed to be able to choose to be loving: toward God, ourselves and others.
Here's what's great! Unlike a house or car or money or things, love doesn't decay, tarnish, or get old. It doesn't have a shelf life. It is priceless and timeless. To invest my time, energy and talents in something that is eternal gives me hope!
Knowing this, I choose to give priority to developing loving relationships. That, in turn, requires me to be more loving, to serve others and seek their welfare. This doesn't mean I'm not concerned about this crazy economy or housing and transportation for me and Karen. What it does mean is that I order my priorities to align with God's: majoring in the eternal, minoring in the temporal. And that gives me hope. Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21. Having right priorities --- God and loving relationships before things, is fuel for hope.
Hope Observed
Notwithstanding the economic landscape, the debacle on Wall Street, and myriad other things people could point to as cause for despair, I see reasons for hope springing up all around me. Let me start within arm's reach, right here in our church. Sure, times are hard, but the upside is that hard times bring us together.
Small communities are springing up at Malibu Pres! Our Life Groups are thriving and meeting our need to be in smaller community with one another, where we can both listen and be heard and where we can pray for, encourage, and support each other, come what may.
I've recently spoken with women who sense a need for deeper community and ministry among the women and are willing to collaborate to meet that need: events, retreats, and breakfasts, planned by and tailored to the women of our church and community.
Our families are getting involved more and more with Mending Kids, and the stories of outreach, hospitality, not to mention heartache and prayer, make me "proud" (in the most positive meaning of that word) to be part of this church.
I've spoken with couples who are going through rough times in their marriage, yet they want to work at it. They see the value in loving relationship. They believe God still works miracles. If they only water dormant seeds of love, they'll be surprised! That gives me hope.
Our Deacons are active, energized, and onboard to serve. Their servant hearts are manifested in the most tangible ways on Sunday mornings with every cup of coffee you drink, donut you eat, and bulletins you hold --- all delivered with a smile and the love of Christ. What you may not see are the instances when the Deacons pray, hand out gift cards to those in need, provide funds for those who have lost everything in local fires, deliver vans of food to other ministries, handle parking issues for major holiday worship services, and send cards to those in hospital or grieving the loss of a loved one. The list goes on! God's people responding out of their hearts is ample cause to be hope-filled!
When I hear a story on Sunday about a person who visits others to pray for them, take them a meal at home, or visit them in the hospital, I am hope-filled.
When I see guests of S.O.S. attend our service on Sunday, and when I see our members serving S.O.S., I know we're sailing in the right channel where the water is deep. That inspires hope.
When I attend meetings of the Session and those of committees that handle our insurance issues, rebuilding issues, admin issues, personnel issues, financial and budget issues, etc. --- I see men and women working together because of their common faith in Jesus Christ and their desire to ensure that the light of the Gospel continues to shine from Malibu Pres. This fills me with hope for the future.
There are other acts of loving kindness, other "fruits of the Spirit" popping up all around me, too numerous to list. I truly think it is because we endeavor, by God's grace, to keep our priorities aligned with God's: loving the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbor as we love ourselves. Ah, the priorities of God and love-in-relationship --- my parents were on to something!
So, why am I hopeful? Because I'm part of Christ's church here in Malibu. When we major in things that have eternal value, that means our focus is to the future, toward eternity. Our aim is heavenward. Regardless of the circumstances and obstacles at our feet, we will keep our eyes on Christ, for our hope is in him. He is our strength.
I'm filled with hope. I hope you are, too.
I'll never forget one of the last things my dad told me. He knew he was dying. He was under hospice care. As he lay in bed with his body filled with cancer he said, "Mike, it's all about love isn't it." It wasn't a question. It was an epiphany. During his life, his focus had been on money and status. A few days after he said this, dad died. During the last few days of his life, he couldn't' tell his ten children enough how much he loved them. These were new words for him.
Mom is nearing the end of her life. She's down to 90 pounds and cancer is spreading throughout her body. When I visited her recently, I asked her, "Mom, what's the most important thing to you now?" She said, "Family! Family is most important."
When all the game is taken out of life and we're held to account, the priorities in life seem to boil down to loving relationships. At least that was true for my parents. In my gut, I believe they're right though I would add God to the list: God and loving relationships.
Hope Taught
Why? God is love. And our triune God is all about relationship. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are in perfect relationship: perfect unity. A loving relationship, or love-in-relationship, is Godly in nature, and we're blessed to be able to choose to be loving: toward God, ourselves and others.
Here's what's great! Unlike a house or car or money or things, love doesn't decay, tarnish, or get old. It doesn't have a shelf life. It is priceless and timeless. To invest my time, energy and talents in something that is eternal gives me hope!
Knowing this, I choose to give priority to developing loving relationships. That, in turn, requires me to be more loving, to serve others and seek their welfare. This doesn't mean I'm not concerned about this crazy economy or housing and transportation for me and Karen. What it does mean is that I order my priorities to align with God's: majoring in the eternal, minoring in the temporal. And that gives me hope. Jesus said, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21. Having right priorities --- God and loving relationships before things, is fuel for hope.
Hope Observed
Notwithstanding the economic landscape, the debacle on Wall Street, and myriad other things people could point to as cause for despair, I see reasons for hope springing up all around me. Let me start within arm's reach, right here in our church. Sure, times are hard, but the upside is that hard times bring us together.
Small communities are springing up at Malibu Pres! Our Life Groups are thriving and meeting our need to be in smaller community with one another, where we can both listen and be heard and where we can pray for, encourage, and support each other, come what may.
I've recently spoken with women who sense a need for deeper community and ministry among the women and are willing to collaborate to meet that need: events, retreats, and breakfasts, planned by and tailored to the women of our church and community.
Our families are getting involved more and more with Mending Kids, and the stories of outreach, hospitality, not to mention heartache and prayer, make me "proud" (in the most positive meaning of that word) to be part of this church.
I've spoken with couples who are going through rough times in their marriage, yet they want to work at it. They see the value in loving relationship. They believe God still works miracles. If they only water dormant seeds of love, they'll be surprised! That gives me hope.
Our Deacons are active, energized, and onboard to serve. Their servant hearts are manifested in the most tangible ways on Sunday mornings with every cup of coffee you drink, donut you eat, and bulletins you hold --- all delivered with a smile and the love of Christ. What you may not see are the instances when the Deacons pray, hand out gift cards to those in need, provide funds for those who have lost everything in local fires, deliver vans of food to other ministries, handle parking issues for major holiday worship services, and send cards to those in hospital or grieving the loss of a loved one. The list goes on! God's people responding out of their hearts is ample cause to be hope-filled!
When I hear a story on Sunday about a person who visits others to pray for them, take them a meal at home, or visit them in the hospital, I am hope-filled.
When I see guests of S.O.S. attend our service on Sunday, and when I see our members serving S.O.S., I know we're sailing in the right channel where the water is deep. That inspires hope.
When I attend meetings of the Session and those of committees that handle our insurance issues, rebuilding issues, admin issues, personnel issues, financial and budget issues, etc. --- I see men and women working together because of their common faith in Jesus Christ and their desire to ensure that the light of the Gospel continues to shine from Malibu Pres. This fills me with hope for the future.
There are other acts of loving kindness, other "fruits of the Spirit" popping up all around me, too numerous to list. I truly think it is because we endeavor, by God's grace, to keep our priorities aligned with God's: loving the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and our neighbor as we love ourselves. Ah, the priorities of God and love-in-relationship --- my parents were on to something!
So, why am I hopeful? Because I'm part of Christ's church here in Malibu. When we major in things that have eternal value, that means our focus is to the future, toward eternity. Our aim is heavenward. Regardless of the circumstances and obstacles at our feet, we will keep our eyes on Christ, for our hope is in him. He is our strength.
I'm filled with hope. I hope you are, too.