The Question that is Seldom Asked.

For most people the daily schedule is a hectic one. Do this, do that, and be sure not to forget to do the chore you were supposed to do yesterday (or was it last week). This leaves little time for a question that is bigger than all of the above. The question is, "Why are we here on earth?" If we compare our life span to the eternal life that preceded this one and the eternal life that follows, it is small in comparison. Most of the concerns that we have do not follow us into eternity, including most of the stresses that go with our life on this earth. Put another way, do we have responsibilities that stem not from this earth, but rather from our eternal life? I suggest that we do. I suggest further that life is a school and we are here to learn important lessons. Lessons that for the most part deal with our relationship to others. Let me give an example. You have heard the term the poor are always with us. Jesus stressed that he wanted us to help the poor. He stated that it should be our first priority, not our last one. How well do we do in this category? I give money to the food bank every month. The food bank feeds people who can't afford their grocery bill. Is this enough? The answer according to Jesus is no, it is not enough. However, if all of us gave a small amount of money to the food bank, how powerful would that be? How many more people would be fed. Would most of us miss the $25 or so given to this agency? If the responsibility does not lie with us, who does it lie with; the person down the street who just lost his or her job? If we say, "Support the Troops!", isn't it also right to say, "Support the sick and the lame?" If you were to ask Jesus for an answer to that question, what would he say? What is needed in my opinion is not a new policy, but a return to an old one. One that was propounded 2000 years ago. "He who does it for the least of these, does it for me." We will all enter eternity some day. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to say, "Yes Lord, I did my part to help."