Living for the Line

 (adapted by Heather Orth from The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn)

Treasure Principle #4 reads “I should live not for the dot but for the line.”  So we ask, “What does this mean?” Our lives have two phases: one is a dot and the other a line extending out from that dot. Our life on earth is the dot.  But the line that extends out from the dot goes on forever, representing eternity in heaven for believers in Christ. “Right now we are living in the dot. But what are we living for?” The shortsighted person lives for the dot. The person with perspective lives for the line!”

 “Command those who are rich in the present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”  1 Timothy 6:17-19

Treasure Principle #5: Giving is the only antidote to materialism.

Go to the dump.  Take a look around. All of the items you see there once held the promise of newness, the hope of fulfillment, the one last thing needed for contentment. And now where are they?  What use are they serving?  They have lost their shine and their owners are often off chasing the next best thing, all part of a vicious cycle. 

 “C.S. Lewis put it this way:  ’We are halfhearted creatures, fooling about [with the things of this world] when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.’”

  “I have held many things in my hands and I have lost them all.

But whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still possess.”

Martin Luther

 I remember a pastor who stood in St. Paul’s Lutheran Church right here in Ogallala and placed himself in the offering plate. That’s right--in the offering plate. It was a striking illustration of offering all he was and all he had--his physical body, his mind, his intellect, his talents and abilities, his car keys, his loose change, and his wallet to the glory and honor of God. What are we waiting for? While we are still living in the dot why don’t we give and live fully and completely for Him?  Then, and only then, can we keep our eyes looking ahead to the line!

Upcoming School Events

Dinner Theater and Musical--Friday, April 15th at 6:00

K-5th Field Trip to the Edgerton Ex-plor-it Center in Aurora, NE--April 29th

Track and Field Day at Our Redeemer, North Platte--May 6th

Last Day of School--Wed., May 18th--11:30 dismissal

Vacation Bible School--May 23rd-27th