No matter your political persuasion, I think we can all agree that our nation—our world has become so complacent concerning that which is eternal. I am often reminded of words of wisdom spoken by President Tom McGee. He stated these words of wisdom often during my four years as a student at St. Louis Christian College. “We must keep the main thing the main thing.” While that saying may seem simplistic, it conveys a deep message that we, as Christians, should not be distracted by things that are “shiny”, rather, we must always be focused on that which is eternal.
A decade later, I taught numerous courses over a period of 16 years as an adjunct professor at St. Louis Christian College. In my preparation for teaching these courses, I came across the following prayer, which I’d like to share with you. I believe that if we would pray these thought-provoking words, all of us could gain renewed focus concerning what is of eternal significance.
“Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little,
when we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess,
we have lost our thirst for the waters of life, having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity, and in our efforts to build a new earth,
we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, where storms will show your mastery, where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizon of our hopes, and to push us into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love. This we ask in the name of our Captain, who is Jesus Christ.”
― Sir Francis Drake
A decade later, I taught numerous courses over a period of 16 years as an adjunct professor at St. Louis Christian College. In my preparation for teaching these courses, I came across the following prayer, which I’d like to share with you. I believe that if we would pray these thought-provoking words, all of us could gain renewed focus concerning what is of eternal significance.
“Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little,
when we arrive safely because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess,
we have lost our thirst for the waters of life, having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity, and in our efforts to build a new earth,
we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas, where storms will show your mastery, where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizon of our hopes, and to push us into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love. This we ask in the name of our Captain, who is Jesus Christ.”
― Sir Francis Drake
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