The Goal

‘While I thought that I was learning how to live,

I have been learning how to die.”

Leonardo Da Vinci

What is your number one goal in life? Could you say it in a single sentence?

For myself, I have boiled it down into one purpose statement and one great desire. My purpose statement is: to love God passionately and serve Him wholeheartedly; and my one great desire is: to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” And as I type that, I immediately realize again how lofty that goal is. It would be utterly impossible, in conception or completion, were it not for the Holy Spirit that indwells and empowers me.

And I trust your goal is similar.

That said, I sometimes fear I will fail in the great moment of crisis. Will I have the courage to look my death in the face, expected or unexpected, and accept it as God’s good and perfect will for me? I hope so. For me, this will be the final challenge, the final call to faithfulness. My prayer is simply that, at that moment, God will grant me grace through the fullness of His Spirit to praise Him and give Him thanks.

Bob & Betty Rotta

This week two dear friends of my family, Bob and Betty Rotta, were killed in a car accident in Seattle, I have always considered them heroes of the faith. As an unsaved boy, and later as a saved adult, I saw that they were great believers, people with complete trust in God. This week’s events became the capstone to a mighty testimony for Christ as they made the final transition from death to life.

I want to share an article from Seattle’s newspaper concerning this event. Follow the link to read the article.

Family Is Reeling from Loss of Parents – by Erik Lacitis 

The extraordinary grace of this family in the midst of crisis was not an accident. Betty died the way she had lived since she was a little girl – trusting Jesus. Beyond that, she and Bob had passed their faith on to their children, and their children responded in the way I would have expected them to – trusting Jesus. In other words, Bob, Betty, and their children had prepared themselves for this moment of crisis, by trusting Jesus and relying on the Holy Spirit. And, now, with the final challenge met and conquered, Bob and Betty entered glory. I have no doubt they heard the words, “Well done, good and faithful servants.”

For me, Bob and Betty are now part of that great cloud of witnesses who give testimony to the value and blessing of living by faith. Their godly examples have inspired me today, again, to live this life with my eyes fixed on Jesus, trusting Him to grant me the grace to excel, even to the end. I hope their testimony can encourage you in a similar way today.

“Therefore we also,

since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us,

and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,

Hebrews 12:1-2a

Christian Pilet -- pastor