Blessed

It was one of those "good" workouts this morning. The ache in the hip was minimal. The time grinding away on the cardio machines was okay (Thank heaven for an iPod with workout music and ESPN on the TV's!). I could do without the core exercises, but with the hip issues influencing my back, etc. ... gotta do them.

I'm walking out of the gym thinking about how blessed I am. I work at a great church. I have a wonderful wife and two terrific sons. Most of the "stuff" in my life is paid for and debt is minimal. I feel the rain on my head and it reminds me that I can get out of this anytime I want.

Then, it hit me. There's some brother or sister in Christ in some far-off country. They can probably live for a year on what I make in a week. Their possessions are few and their luxuries are almost non-existent. But, he too, may have looked up to the heavens and thought how blessed he was by the God Most High.

That thought humbles me. I can't be sure that I would praise God if I was in that position. Some would say, "If you grew up in that environment, you'd never know the difference." But, since I grew up in an environment of relative wealth, I do know the difference.

John Wesley once noted that he didn't expect to see his contemporary, George Whitefield, in heaven. Wesley and Whitefield were at opposite ends of the theological spectrum. But Wesley went on to note, "I won't see him because he will be so close to the Father while I'll be at the back of the crowds."

I suspect that those who are at the head table at that great banquet in heaven will be the most obscure people from the history of the earth. But, in heaven, their reputation has been touted for eternity.

1 Kings 17-18