The Dead . . . and the Living

How ominous a title. Think about the 4 stars who died last week.

1. Ed McMahon - Johnny Carson's sidekick. I grew up with Johnny and Ed; along with Doc Severenson. Ed knew his place, he knew when to laugh, he knew when to get Johnny going, he fully understood his role and purpose. I'm never sure if he liked it, but his wallet must have liked it.
2. Farrah Fawcett - Every girl wanted to be Farrah, and most every guy wanted Farrah, or her look-alike. She parlayed one year of being an Angel into a lucrative career. She came back in her career and seemed to thrive for a time. Yet, I wonder if she was ever truly fulfilled with what she was doing.
3. Michael Jackson - He was an amazing performer and artist. His moves astounded people then, and still do today. He was magic when he performed, yet he had so many issues. Mainly he never grew up. He had talent in abundance, but he never seemed to be at peace with himself or life.
4. Billy Mays - He lived off of his voice. He understood what he had, and he used what he had to his benefit. It seems his fame was short lived, but he seemed to enjoy his work.

When I think about these four, it causes me to reflect about my own life and what God is doing in my life, what I am doing about what God is doing, and what it will look like in the end. The one thing I don't want to waste is God's gifts and blessings in my life.

We are called to live by His grace, we receive His unmerited favor, undeserved forgiveness . . . how sweet that is, but there is more that we just don't grasp. We are supposed to live our lives with His grace imputed in us and we are to be changed people, from the inside out, but are we? Therein lies our dilemma. We want it all, but we refuse to, as Paul said, "work out our salvation."

God calls us to be holy, because He is holy, but we push aside His holiness so we can do our own thing, assuming forgiveness is just around the corner.

Some late night idle ramblings.