The Bucket List and the Ringing Phone

Oscar Levant, the famous Russian Jewish musician, was playing a concert in a high school auditorium and became greatly disturbed when a nearby telephone kept ringing. In the middle of his piece, he leaned forward and without missing a note said, “If that is for me, tell them I’m busy,” and kept on playing as if nothing had happened. We all wish we could be that focused. The telephone of life never seems to stop ringing. Never-ending noisy little ‘rings’ from all directions seem to constantly bombard us as if trying to get us off-key and out of sync in life.[pullquote4 align=”right” style=”width:300px;”]Grace for the Prodigal – (Luke 15:11-32)
Grace upon grace was the Father’s cry,
Calvary’s blood stood in the gap to satisfy.
Separated from God I had nowhere to turn,
His love and forgiveness I could never earn.
Everything for nothing – He died in my place,
The offer of His compassion I did embrace.
No hope had I of living free from sin,
A wayward son living in life’s pig-pen.
Empty and broken at His feet I knelt,
While crying for mercy new love I felt.
Arms so strong but gentle were they,
Lifted me up out of the miry clay.
Stronger am I — a new life I have found,
Filled while empty as I knelt on the ground.
The blood seeks others to heal and fill,
Just kneel at the cross at Calvary’s hill.
New life you’ll find with peace anew,
Joy beyond belief, and heaven too.
Wayward Prodigals needing a fresh start,
Kneel at the cross and ask for a new heart.[/pullquote4]That’s what happened to the Prodigal Son in Luke, Chapter 15. A voice on the other end kept telling him, “Hey, there’s more out there than what your father is telling you. Get what is yours now and find out what real life is all about. Go have some fun!” This voice convinced him to make a Bucket List filled with earthly pleasures and selfish pursuits. All too soon, however, he realized that the voice on the phone did not deliver as promised, and so he headed home where he was forgiven and accepted.

That is also God’s plan for us. We can’t stop those little irritating ‘rings’ that don’t allow us to focus, but we can become original copies of Christ who walked with determination and power by keeping our eye of our Lord. As disciples, our spiritual destiny is to do more than simply survive while we figure out which phone or voice to follow. God has greater plans for us. Don’t settle for anything less than a heart and life where the living waters of God flow like a mighty river. John 7:38. Avoid living a life of worry – it only guarantees a miserable life. When you try to be God by steering your own ship, you most assuredly run your little vessel into the rocks. You can live comfortably with the unknown when you choose to trust God by following His still small voice.

Mark Twain once said, “Let us endeavor to live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.” Sound advice for anyone who yearns to live a life filled with the joy of the Lord.

Hope for a satisfying life keeps me disciplined and able to avoid the inevitable
interruptions that distract me from my destination.