In the movie “The Bucket List” Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson are two of the most unlikeliest of characters who are thrown together because of they share a common enemy, DEATH. They have both been diagnosed with cancer. They now come face to face with Ultimate Truth, perhaps for the first time, they are mortal. Jack Nicholson is a wealthy CEO who has run his life like he’s run his company, with cool efficiency and with an eye on the bottom line. As a result, he’s divorced and alone, estranged from his daughter, and facing the prospect of death with few significant relationships to show for his life.
Morgan Freeman is an articulate black mechanic, who’s life was spent working to provide for his children and his wife, but now faces the prospect of having lost himself in the process. His wife wants him to stay home, to convalesce in her care. But he finds he cannot love her completely without knowing himself, without loving himself and having something to give that is truly his own.
Together they create The Bucket List: “things I’d like to do before I die…” The movie touches a nerve in everyone who sees it, but is it deceptive in nature. The movie assumes that death is the end, so get what you can while you can. Achieve all you want because when the ride is over, it’s over!
As Christians, however, we believe life is a journey to a destination we only vaguely remember. Like a melody that haunts our memories, we’re going someplace familiar that we don’t know yet. If life is a journey and death is a time of change, then perhaps the question we should be asking is really this:
What should I be doing before I die?
There an important part of the movie when Jack and Morgan are on the top of one of the pyramids in Giza talking about the Egyptian perspective on death and the afterlife. Morgan suggests that there are two questions we will be asked in the afterlife:
(1) have you found joy in your life
(2) have you brought joy to the lives of others.
I think there is a better question we will be asked from a Christian perspective:
Have you been seeking the heart of God?
NO? – Then you’re not going to like what you find here.
Yes? – Then this is your true home you’ve been searching for all your life!
The Bible tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart. Although flawed, prone to temptation and on the run most of his life, David loved God and held a special place in God heart too. What can we learn from David about our own lives and our own destiny with God’s Heart.
Join our discussion of Living in Pursuit of God’s Heart
Sermon Notes: Sermon Notes 10.07.12 After God’s Heart
Sermon Slides: Worship 10.07.12 After God’s Heart
Sermon Audio: After God’s Own Heart 10.7.12L After God’s Own Heart 10.7.12e
The photo in this article is an enduring reminder of what it means to be “Israeli”. (It’s those cute little “Israeli” girls scribbling slogans and messages
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