So, the world is changing.
Michael Scott has left The Office.
Osama Bin Laden has left the world.
I'm about to say goodbye to Moody. (Not quite the same)
The hard thing about change sometimes is that it's not... quite... complete. Take Michael Scott for example. The hardest part for me about watching Steve Carell's final episode of The Office is that I knew that this week's episode was coming. I'm sure it'll be funny. I'm sure it'll keep me interested in watching the show. Even though it won't be the same, this Thursday will prove that The Office can go on without Michael Scott. It might not be as funny but it can and it will go on. Steve Carell was a big part of the show but this proves that he was not the show itself.
Osama Bin Laden is dead. If you're looking for how you should be reacting to his death I can point you to 1000 other blogs. (As always, Kevin DeYoung's is worth reading) The reason Bin Laden has found himself in this blog is that even though his death is a victory in the War on Terror, it is not ultimate victory. He may have been the figurehead of Al Qaeda but he was not Al Qaeda itself. It may be weakened but it will go on. No death of one person will take down that terror organization and the fight will still go on.
I was visiting Moody for the last time before graduation a couple of weeks ago and saw something that caused me to stop in the middle of the sidewalk. The gas station next to Moody, the one that has the suspect looking Subway on the inside of it that has fed many a Moody student on Sunday nights was changing. It had been a Citgo for my entire time at Moody... but was now a BP. Now, other than to people who know something more about gasoline than where to put it in the car, the change really doesn't make that much of a difference. To me it served as a sign that the city of Chicago was surviving, was moving on, was changing without me.
We may not say it out loud but many of us, myself included, hope that our presence in this world is indispensable. We hope that our impact is great enough on those around us that they simply need us to stick around. The fact of the matter is that the show will go on without us. We are not irreplaceable.
Now, you might be asking yourself, "Why are you talking about this? I was sitting here enjoying my bowl of cereal and you're talking about how useless we are!" The reason I'm calling attention to our unimportance is that it is only because of God's grace that He allows us to have an impact in the lives that we do. He has also given us a limited amount of time to make that impact. What will you do with the opportunity that you have been given? Steve Carell spent 7 years on The Office making people laugh. Bin Laden's influence was an evil, negative one but it was one that cannot be overlooked.
I hope that as I leave Moody I can look back and see that I used the opportunity to build relationships with the people around me.
I hope that I can see that had an influence in the lives of others.
And I hope that I remember.... that it is only at His leisure I serve.
