Do you remember the story about the chicken who tried to cross the road?

Well, it was not a chicken!  It was a turtle… and it was trying to cross the road.  When I came across this turtle, it was already half way across!

Let me clarify.  It was a turtle and it was trying to cross the road.  I was driving on a two lane road to the church one morning and thought I saw a large rock on the road in the distance.  As I neared, I saw that it was a turtle, and it was taking cautious steps to cross the road, its head was extended high up in the air.  I moved to the right so as to not clip the little guy and went on by.  As I looked in the rearview mirror, the turtle had gone into its shell… a defense mechanism of turtles whenever they sense danger… I guess.

A few hours later, as I was coming home for some lunch, I began to think about the turtle and wondered what the little guy’s fate was.  Did he cross safely or did another car hit the poor guy?  Was I going to get to the spot and see a crushed shell?  I found myself getting a little more concerned for the guy… did he make it?  Should I have stopped earlier and helped him across the road?

As I got to the spot… there was no sign of the turtle.  I even slowed down to see if he was lying by the side of the road and I was glad to find the sides clear too.  So I surmised that this turtle had successfully navigated the road from one side to the other.

As I thought about this, I began to wonder how many times this turtle had crossed from the lake side of the road to a more marshy area and back again.  One, two, or maybe even 100 times?  How often had this turtle risked its life just to go from one side to the other?

Like the turtle who risked crossing the road for a purpose, I wonder if people are willing to risk living life for a purpose… living a life for a reward that is not for today or tomorrow, but for eternity.  I remember the first few times I shared with others what God had done in my life.  It was scary on one hand and exhilarating on the other.  I knew I was facing rejection on one hand, but on the other, the reward was… what shall I call it… heavenly!

I had a “God Moment” that helped me decide to follow God’s call into the ministry.  (Remember, this was a huge risk and life change for me and my young family at the time.)  A survey of 80 and 90 year olds was taken and one of the questions was this.  “If you could live life over again, what would you do differently?”  The two top answers were to take more risks and build more relationships.  My deepest desire was and continues to be is this… I want to look back on my life when I am old and be able to say I did everything I felt God was asking me to do.  I would much rather risk looking like a fool before men than being a failure before God.

We do not know which day will be our last day on this earth.  Some of us may live well into our 90’s and others not even make it to 70… and others, even shorter than this.  So shouldn’t we order our lives with the most eternal things at the top of the list?  Making sure our relationship with God is always getting tighter and then helping others we know to also be in a vital relationship with God?  There is no greater joy for me than knowing I have remained close with God, and that my life has made a difference in helping others to know God better, especially for my family.

After all, if we want to get the most out of life and be satisfied when we come to our end, we are going to need to take some risks.  But if we risk for only the temporary riches of this world and not the eternal, we may be disappointed with our lives when we look back on them.  Remember, we cannot live life over, we only have one chance.  Instead we should take opportunities now to find ways to share the love of God with others, that in doing so they may in turn be affected for all eternity?   Like the turtle who plodded across the road, it was done one step at a time.  Each step took him closer to his goal of crossing the road.  Each intentional step we take toward growing our relationship with God and helping others in their relationship with God is just that… one step closer.  Taking no steps is just that… remaining where you are in life.  Even though one step may seem small, you will be going in the right direction.

Pastor Paul