Good morning, Church Family and Friends,
“If one does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away.” That’s the way Henry David Thoreau put it in one of his books written more than 100 years ago. In 1845, Thoreau staked out a little cabin near Walden Pond, and for two years lived a nearly hermit-like existence. During those years he thought his own thoughts, which were later published and widely read. His influence on American life is indelible. “March to your own drummer” has achieved almost proverbial status in our land.
It’s important to listen to a drum which keeps life focused on the important things. Jesus once said to his disciples, “I must do the works of him who sent me while it is yet day, for the night comes and no one can work” (John 9:4). Counselors often talk with people who are laden with guilt. Contrary to what most people would expect, the guilty feelings arise not so much from things they have done, but from things they have left undone.
Years ago, one of baseball’s all-time great players stood at home plate while the pitcher threw two strikes past him. When the third pitch came, the player stood waiting, but his bat never moved. When the umpire called, “Strike three,” the batter turned to the umpire, muttered something, and walked away. Sports reporters nearby had never known Lou Gerig to protest a call. They cornered Gerig and asked him what he had said to the umpire. “Oh,” said Gerig, “that was no protest. I just said I’d give a thousand dollars to have another chance at that last pitch.” Life doesn’t usually work that way, however. You have to work at the right things while it is still day.
The night does come, and the final strike is called.
There’s a proverb which reads, “If you want to plant for a season, sow a garden; for a century, plant a tree; but if you want to plant for eternity, touch a life for good.” That latter door is open to every one of us. Jesus changed the world so that it will never be the same. The impact of our lives will not be nearly so great, but in some small way all of us can give something good to the world that will survive us.
It may be by supporting some noble and worthy cause, or a word of encouragement to a talented person, or perhaps through the lives of our children. All of us can do something that will make a difference a hundred years from now if we listen for the proper drummer. It’s the ones of us who march to such music who are able to look back from the end of life and not be ashamed.
Find a drum worth marching to,
Bruce Jones, Pastor
Imagine Church
