What in the world is a "pacer" anyways? Here's what I found:
1. One who sets the pace in a race.
2. A leader in a field; also called pacesetter.
3. A part of the body, such as the mass of muscle fibers that set the pace or rhythm of physiological activity.
4. Any of several usually miniaturized and surgically implanted electronic devices used to stimulate or regulate contractions of the heart muscle; also known as a pacemaker.
5. A substance that regulates a series of related reactions.
Pacers are pretty useful suckers aren't they! We wouldn't be able to function without a heartbeat, would we? I mean how would you react if your heart suddenly stopped?
Little did I know at the time, my Poppy would soon die of lung cancer. That basketball game is one of the many memories I have with him. A few days before he died in the hospital bed, my Dad asked him if he knew where he was going when his heart stopped beating. I'm not sure exactly what he said, but knowing him he probably said, "Hell if I know!" He was always really funny, and enjoyed beer and cigarettes daily. I remember him going to the bar all the time to hang out with friends in our small hometown of Henderson, Kentucky.
As I look back at my Poppy's life, I see how my Dad was kind of acting as Poppy's pacesetter. They both knew that he only had a little while longer to live, and Poppy was heartbroken to the point of tears. My Dad, being a minister, probably shared quite a bit of Scripture with him so that he would react by relating with the One who sets the pace in this race we call life.
If I was mature enough at the time, I would have loved to share these verses by King Solomon (the wisest man to ever live) with my Poppy to wipe away his tears...
"What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil - this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him."
- Ecclesiastes 3:9-14
Whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, we must do it for the glory of God. Same goes for the workplace, where we toil. I would love to work for a successful company, but the challenge is going to be whether or not I choose to glorify God in my field of interest. Who sets the pace in the workplace? Ethical issues arise daily for leaders, and I could become fearful of not pleasing stakeholders, or not providing enough for myself or even my family.
But what does King Solomon say? More importantly, what does the Son of God say? God sets the pace in the race so that we will fear him, not the things of this world. The pursuit of happiness according to Jesus, the Son of God & Man, is to simply be happy and follow him if you don't know how because he has gone to the Father to prepare a place for us! God is most satisfied in us when we are most satisfied in him.
My Poppy accepted Christ as his personal Lord & Savior right before he died. I know he couldn't be happier right now to be reunited with his Father in Heaven! As our pacemaker, God is truly making all things new through Jesus, our pacesetter.
Who is setting the pace for our lives? And how can we be pacesetters for those running the race? Place yourself in the center of God's grace, until will see Jesus - God's light to the world - face to face.
In Him,
Jon 道明
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Magnolia Dr,Richmond,United States
No comments:
Post a Comment