Marley and Me Too

Last evening I watched the movie (if you haven’t guessed) Marley & Me. The movie follows a couple and their dog through about 15 or so years; their ups and downs, sadness and joy. Not expecting to enjoy it much I was pleasantly surprised (OK enough with the review, get to the point).

At the end of the movie I was reminded of the brevity of life. We watch as Marley goes from pup to old dog in just under 2 hours and that is brief… obviously life is not that brief. But is it? I still remember when I first met my wife over 20 years ago, when I first held each of my children 15, 11, and 3 years ago, when I buried my parents 6 and 1 year ago, when I recorded my first album over 24 years ago, and through it all it feels like all these things happened only yesterday.

Life moves on, but it happens too fast. Not trying to sound like an oldie, but it seems the older I get the faster it goes. I was once, not too long ago, only a pup myself and now I’m nearing middle age. And soon, God willing, I’ll be nearing the end of my days and sharing what God has taught me from my aged fount of knowledge… hopefully not too soon!

The Bible asks, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:14b) Why does James write this seemingly heartless passage? It seems at face value that James may even be despairing that his own life is too short, a rhetorical statement of sorts. To get to the bottom of this we must go back just one verse. “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.” (Vss 13-14a)

Some spend their whole lives making plans, but to what purpose? At the beginning of the movie Marley & Me Jennifer Aniston’s character has made all these elaborate plans; 1) meet man 2) get married 3) move somewhere warmer 4) … you catch my drift? By the middle of the movie these plans have gone out of the window, and why, because life happens… she didn’t know what tomorrow would bring so she had given up trying to plan her life out.

And so, what many believers see as a dire warning, could simply be God offering us some good advice? “You don’t have long, so don’t waste your life on temporary things like stuff and money.” The Bible goes on to say, “Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”" (Vs 15)

So many people want meaning and purpose in this life, but many reason why bother because I don’t have long. Either that or they go out of their way to get as much as they can in this life without too much thought given as to the well being of anyone else, or the things of God.

However, maybe the key to life (one of them at least) is to realize and come to terms with the brevity of our existence here on Planet Earth. By doing this I believe we will begin to put things into perspective – what’s important and not. As a pastor I used to run around like a headless chicken trying to get everything done with never enough hours in any given day, but often I would focus on the meaningless stuff that could wait instead of spending time with dear people who are no longer with us. And I know I’m not alone in this because I know many a pastor who need to slow down and smell the coffee.

Ask anyone who knows they are dying and 99% of them will tell you that the most important things are not things at all, but people; family and friends. And none of us are promised tomorrow, so why spend today trying to fix or gain that which we leave behind anyway?

For me I pray that I can meet life head on and undertake anything and everything that God chooses to send my way. I pray that this brief life will count for something in the big scheme, that I will leave some kind of lasting legacy through the lives God has been able to touch through me. I pray that like Marley I am fun to be around, full of boundless energy, loving and loyal to a fault, there when others need me, and that through it all, I can live life to the full.

Christian St John M.Div, BChM, ACS
October, 2009