I had known I’d need more exercise,
But had hoped it wouldn’t take much.
I had known my diet needed more attention,
But had hoped it wouldn’t take much.
I had known my kids needed more of my time,
And that my retirement needed more preparation,
But had hoped it wouldn’t take much.
I had known I should love my friends and family more,
And that my character needed more effort,
But had hoped it wouldn’t take much.
And I had known that my religion required more devotion,
But had hoped it wouldn’t take much.
And then I studied Jesus and discovered that
Although it sure might look like this life
Is just about getting from day to day,
It’s really about getting from world to world ―
About preparing for the next world while still in this one,
If we dare.
It’s about who will care enough to undergo the training
For that world to which any of us could go if he cared enough.
And then, bit by bit, I began to see things differently here ―
To see the challenges less as needless and stupid bothers,
And more as necessary training for what is to come.
And I began to see how that the first and greatest commandment
Calls for all one’s heart
And all one’s mind
And all one’s soul
And all one’s strength.
And it all started to make sense to me.
And I, who had hoped it wouldn’t take much,
Have come to see that the real glory in life
Isn’t just in getting by, but in learning
To give one’s all for worthy purposes.
And now I think that this world is about
Finding people for that next world
Who want to live that way,
And who already have some
Practice in doing it ―
Who have some skin in the game.
Our bodies are hard-wired from birth
To seek out the easiest way,
But the test here seems to be not about our bodies,
But about we will live in our spirits.
And we could ― if we wanted ―
Adopt in our spirits, in this very lifetime,
The way of that second world ahead of time,
While we are still here in this one,
Living like strangers in a foreign land,
And striving for more than seems
Natural and normal to the others.
And this is how God seems to pick
Who gets to go there
When we are done.
