Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Intentional - On purpose - Deliberate

Anyone who has attended Harvest for any length of time will tell you that one of my favorite words is "intentional." I like this word because it helps me think about the answer to the question why?

C.S. Lewis wrote that every ships' captain has to answer three questions. How to stay afloat? How to keep from hitting other boats and obstacles? Why I am out here?

I believe that much our lives is spent answering the first two questions, and we only occasionally think about why we are out here in the first place. If you do not know where you are going, it does not follow that go nowhere, but that you go someplace you don't want to be.

At some point in our lives we need to ask why we are here. We also need to ask "why am I doing this?" about all the areas of our lives. I believe that if we did this more frequently that staying afloat and not running into others would be a lot easier if someone is steering the boat.

Of course, as a Christian I believe that ultimately our direction and purpose need to be set by God, but He gives us such great freedom that we still need to answer some of the specific questions for ourselves.

Now I don't believe that we should constantly be questioning everything, and I know that we all need some unplanned space in our lives. On the other hand, if someone asks me the question why are you doing that or why do you believe that, I want to have at least thought about it. Even unplanned fun time can have the good purpose of enjoying the life that God has given us.

So my question for you is -- Why?