Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates Series

the One who can make our lives count.

8. The idea is that Moses wants our feeble efforts to amount to something beyond ourselves. He prays, Lord be pleased with us, make our lives count. Now let me ask, isn’t that what all of us really want? Don’t we all want our lives to amount to something. That’s what church is ultimately all about. It’s about being a part of something that’s bigger than we are. It’s about making a true difference in this world with God’s help.

9. When we leave God out of our lives, we may think we are making an eternal difference, but I don’t think it can work. It’s not that no one who doesn’t do anything good. However, it’s only as God blesses our efforts that what we do really gains eternal significance. We may think our efforts are enough, but they aren’t. Let me illustrate with a story about a man who worked at a factory. One of his main jobs was to blow the factory whistle at 5:00 PM each day to indicate that the end of the workday. He walked to work each day and passed a jewelry store where a beautiful grandfather clock was on display in the window. Every morning, he stopped and set his pocket watch to match the time on that beautiful grandfather clock. One morning the store owner was out front sweeping the sidewalk and the factory worker asked him how the grandfather clock kept such accurate time. The jeweler said, "Oh, I set it every afternoon when the factory whistle blows at 5:00." We must have a highest measuring stick than our own perspective. When we ask for God’s blessing and commit ourselves to making a difference, we will.

Conclusion:

1. There is rarely a week that goes by without me making a hospital visit. Because I visit the hospital so frequently, I will admit that after a few weeks have passed most hospital visits sort of fade from my memory. However, I want to finish up this morning by telling you about a hospital visit I made over 20 years ago that I remember well. I went to the Veterans Hospital in Poplar Bluff to visit my Uncle Luther. He was a rough old guy. He was more likely to cuss at you than he was to say something nice. So, when I walked into his room that day I was totally unprepared for what I encountered. He was crying. I’ll never forget his words as long as I have my mind. He said, "Tim, I’ve wasted my life & now it’s too late to do anything about it. I’m a bitter old man. I’ve been bitter about things that really don’t matter at this point." Uncle Luther had accepted the Lord just before this, but when he looked back at his life, he had wasted it. He hadn’t lived well & he knew it. I made a commitment to God that day after I left that with His help, I wouldn’t live a life that would be that empty when it came my time to die. Though more than twenty years have passed since that time, I have never forgotten. Uncle Luther waited too long to live his life differently, but his experience can challenge us to live differently today.

2. Will you join me in making a commitment to do that this morning? You can always find some good reasons to wait, but why? Now is your opportunity to make this commitment. I’m going to give you a few moments for silent prayer. If you want God to use you and will commit yourself to being used by Him right now. Let’s pray. Prayer