HEARTLIGHT® Magazine: Just for Men: "Why Me, Lord?"

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“Why Me, Lord?”
by Randal Matheny

I have a wonderful wife who works hard to teach our children, maintain a home and accompany me when I give studies and classes, who prays for me, cares for me, notices my needs and moods, serves me daily in love and tenderest care. Why me, Lord?
I have three beautiful kids, healthy, strong, well-mannered, polite, bright, chatty, even an adolescent who likes to talk to his parents and at 15 works with his dad because he wants to; kids who love the Lord and serve in his church and invite their friends to Bible studies; kids who like to sing praises and study the Word. Why me, Lord?
I have loving parents who taught me right, instilled values and love of God, who disciplined me when I did wrong, who praised my achievements, who worked hard to give me a chance in the world and pushed me out with encouragement to be and to do. Why me, Lord?
I have grandparents who gave me roots, who always welcomed me with open arms, who piqued my curiosity for knowledge, praised my erect posture, brought me close to the good earth and taught me respect for manual labor done with pride. Why me, Lord?
I have a nice home where everybody has a place to sleep, a table to put their feet under, food to put on the table, comforts galore, clothes abundant, good neighbors, paved streets, running water and electricity and even sewage and telephone. Why me, Lord?
I have a satisfying work, sufficient salary for basic needs, supportive colleagues, a positive work climate, opportunities for growth, study tools, open doors, challenging tasks, a rewarding job. Why me, Lord?
I live in an open society, free to live and work as I see fit, to come and go as I please, to choose my path and my future, to develop my self, to contribute to the common good, to have compassion on the underprivileged, to make a difference in my community and participate in the process of lifting up law and order. Why me, Lord?
I have a spiritual family where my faults are gently corrected, my strengths are appreciated and used, my growth is encouraged, my talents employed and my presence acknowledged with joy and gladness; a circle of like-minded people who see above the trials to light upon an eternal hope, through a deep faith grounded in love of truth and justice as shown in One single Man, around whom revolves the entire universe. Why me, Lord?
I have a Savior, about whom I cannot say enough, who brings heaven to earth and carries me to celestial heights, whose humility breaks open the glories of eternal treasures, whose perfection completes my starts and stops, whose holiness covers my impurites, whose death causes life to appear in the most unlikely hearts, whose resurrection pumps hope through my spiritual veins every vital second of this earthbound timeframe which one day will dissolve into everlasting bliss; yes, I have a Savior, who is friend, counsellor, mentor, judge, Lord, companion and leader who constantly suprises me, all rolled into one. Why me, Lord?
Why me, Lord? Why all these blessings piled one on top of another, renewed daily and more abundantly than if dump trucks unloaded them in unending lines?
Why me, Lord? Blessings in order to bless, to become a pipeline of promise, a harbinger of hope, to stoke up fires of faith. Blessings which are instruments to play the spiritual tune that gladdens the heart, lightens the step and echoes your divine voice of sweet invitation to nothing less than your full presence, glorious and majestic, the likes of which we can only now imagine.
Why me, Lord? Grace, pure grace, poured out because of who you are, not because of our prime performance. Mercy, tender mercy, unexplainable, but attainable. This, the final wonder of it all.