This Side of the Dirt

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. (John 9:1-3 ESV). In a 24 hour period, if you’re an adult of average weight, here is what you accomplish: • Your heart beats 103,689 times • Your blood travels 168,000,000 miles • You breathe 23,040 times • You inhale 438 cubic feet of air. • You eat 3.25 pounds of food • You drink 2.9 quarts of liquids • You lose 7/8 pound of waste. • You speak 4,800 words, including some unnecessary ones • You move 750 muscles • Your nails grow .000046 inch • Your hair grows .01714 inch • You exercise 7,000,000 brain cells. Feel tired? There is actually so much more to living in one day than just these things! The only non-renewable resource any of us have is time. In our reading this morning Jesus encourages us to work while we can since there will be a day when we will run out of time. There are a few occasions when I have been reminded of this very vividly. Sometime ago I had a very angry client. He was upset because things were not going as he wanted in his marriage. He was so upset that he was actually shouting obscenities in the middle of our session threatening all manner of things. I waited for him to take a breath and merely asked, “Which side of the dirt are you on?” He was speechless, which was the desired effect I intended. He then stammered, “Dirt? What are you talking about?” I then explained that I would gladly help him walk through his problem. While challenging, it was not insurmountable. Then I answered his question about the dirt. God had given him another day. He woke up on “this side of the dirt.” He was alive with a precious resource. How foolish to waste even one minute of it in such frustration and anger. My mantra has remained the same: Never let outward circumstances determine inward joy. Perhaps you should adopt the same attitude. You have been given another day. You have been given another opportunity to see and experience the wonder of God’s grace in your life. You have been given another chance to bring that grace into someone else’s life. You are on this side of the dirt! Don’t waste a minute of it in negative pursuits!