The Good Stuff Is In The Middle

When I say, “The good stuff is in the middle”, what do you think about?  I’m guessing your first thought might have been an Oreo?  Or a Twinkie?  Or a jelly-filled donut?  Can you tell I have a terrible sweet-tooth?  But my reference isn’t to desserts, I was thinking about vacations.  If you make a reservation for a beachfront stay, you have to let them know when you’ll arrive, and when you must leave.  The good stuff is in the middle.  Get it?  That’s where the fun is – the days of sunshine and walking on the beach and lounging by the pool.  When the fun is over, you think less about the day you showed up and the day you left, and more about all the days in between, right?

I don’t want to seem too morbid, but let’s shift the conversation from fun to tombstones.  I know, how do we make THAT connection?  Think about a tombstone.  It has two dates on it – the date you arrive, and the date you check out.  Just like the trip to the beach, right?  And what do we find between those two dates?  A dash.  –

That dash is the “stuff in the middle” of life.  That little line IS your life!  Don’t you think we should be cramming all kinds of “good stuff” into the middle of those dates?  Are you doing it?  The Bible speaks a lot about what should be found in the middle:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  Deuteronomy 6:5-7

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  Matthew 6:20-21

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.  2 Timothy 2:2

Be careful to obey all these words that I command you, that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, when you do what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.  Deuteronomy 12:28

What should fill the middle of your life?  Honoring God each day.  Investing in others.  Using the wealth God provides to expand His kingdom.  Reminding the generations that follow us that He is faithful and worthy of our dedication and obedience.  And finding fun and fulfillment in what we do. Read what Solomon said:

I know that nothing is better for them than to rejoice, and to do good in their lives, and also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor—it is the gift of God.  Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

Did you catch that last line?  God says it’s OK to enjoy an Oreo now and then!  And maybe a Twinkie, too.  We worry too much about what’s coming at the END of life.  God desires us to pay more attention to what’s in the middle.  So what’s in your middle?

Jacob