[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fwhat-a-loss":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fwhat-a-loss-surround":76},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":13,"columnName":58,"date":59,"description":60,"extension":61,"image":62,"meta":63,"minRead":64,"navigation":65,"path":66,"postType":67,"publication":68,"publicationUrl":62,"seo":69,"stem":70,"topics":71,"__hash__":75},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fwhat-a-loss.md","What a Loss!",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11,12],"Ecclesiastes","Mark","Philippians","Colossians",{"type":14,"value":15,"toc":54},"minimark",[16,24,27,30,33,36,39,42,45,48,51],[17,18,19,20],"p",{},"Recently I attended the funeral of an African-American preacher who had served his congregation for more than 30 years. I never had met the deceased, but his son is a friend of mine so I went to pay my respects. As part of the funeral service, photos of the departed preacher appeared on a screen while we listened to taped excerpts of sermons he had preached about Heaven. He had an engaging communication style and a unique way of turning a phrase. I thought, ",[21,22,23],"em",{},"What a loss, for death to claim such a gifted communicator.",[17,25,26],{},"Anytime someone dies, the world loses a unique personality and talent. We collectively feel the loss when a celebrity passes on. No more funny lines delivered by Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, and Johnny Carson. Except by watching film, we no longer marvel at Fred Astaire's dancing feet. Gone are the smooth voices of Karen Carpenter and Nat King Cole, the creative genius of Jim Hensen, the poetic brilliance of Robert Frost, and Babe Ruth's mighty home run swing.",[17,28,29],{},"I heard a master violinist play the other day. It has taken him years to perfect his technique, but someday his hands no longer will produce those pure, sweet tones. What a loss!",[17,31,32],{},"Solomon observed, \"When I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind.\" He added, \"I hated all the things I had toiled for. . . . For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it\" (Ecclesiastes 2:11, 18, 21).",[17,34,35],{},"Why go to work every day, toiling to achieve and be productive, when eventually you will die and leave it all behind? Is there any significance to your work beyond what a pay stub can measure? Must you simply put in your years on the job before retiring to the golf course and the TV remote control? You have to make a living, but can you also make a life?",[17,37,38],{},"Career Counsel from Christ",[17,40,41],{},"Jesus said, \"For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it\" (Mark 8:35). What a strange twist! Try desperately to hang onto your life, and you will lose it. Lose your life for Jesus' sake, and you will find it. Focus on self-fulfillment and self-indulgence, and you'll end up frustrated even in the midst of wealth and accomplishment. Make your highest goal loving God and loving others, and you will find joy even in the lowliest of tasks.",[17,43,44],{},"The apostle Paul passionately grabbed hold of this strange-sounding truth. By middle age he had gained success in his career and earned the respect of his peers. \"But whatever was to my profit,\" he wrote, \"I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things\" (Philippians 3:7, 8).",[17,46,47],{},"Paul didn't live for his career; he lived for Christ. His goal was not to retire comfortably, but to bear maximum fruit for the Lord as long as he lived. He said, \"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men\" (Colossians 3:23). Whether he preached, traveled, wrote, or made tents, he did it all to the glory of God.",[17,49,50],{},"When Paul died, some probably said, \"What a loss!\" But this great man of faith had embraced the value system espoused by Jesus. His motto? \"To live is Christ, and to die is gain\" (Philippians 1:21). Paul \"lost\" his life for Christ, and in the process \"gained\" everything that matters now and forever.",[17,52,53],{},"What a blessing!",{"title":55,"searchDepth":56,"depth":56,"links":57},"",2,[],"First Look","2005-09-04","Recently I attended the funeral of an African-American preacher who had served his congregation for more than 30 years. I never had met the deceased, but his son is a friend of mine so I went to pay my respects. As part of the funeral service, photos of the departed preacher appeared on a screen while we listened to taped excerpts of sermons he had preached about Heaven. He had an engaging communication style and a unique way of turning a phrase. I thought, *What a loss, for death to claim such a gifted communicator.*","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fwhat-a-loss","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":60},"articles\u002Fwhat-a-loss",[72,73,74],"Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Spiritual Formation","eBQx81p_A9ryFUZ6X32kwBIz36XUcTYw0HkVYsxTaZY",[77,82],{"title":78,"path":79,"stem":80,"description":81,"children":-1},"Welcome Home","\u002Farticles\u002Fwelcome-home","articles\u002Fwelcome-home","I like coming home. The ideal welcome? Walking through the front door to a hug from my wife and kids, the smell of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies, and the dog greeting my arrival with tail-wagging enthusiasm. But realistically, coming home is often a far different scene from fighting traffic, I'm grouchy by the time I stumble over my daughter's bookbag left by the door, discover a pile of bills from the day's mail, hear my kids ask for help with homework I don't understand, and find the dog tearing up a piece of carpet again.",{"title":83,"path":84,"stem":85,"description":86,"children":-1},"What a Married Guy Has Learned from My Single Friends","\u002Farticles\u002Fwhat-a-married-guy-has-learned-from-my-single-friends","articles\u002Fwhat-a-married-guy-has-learned-from-my-single-friends","I have been married for 34 years, more than 60 percent of my life. The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful wife who means more to me than words can express. And yet, the Lord has put a variety of singles in my life as well, and they have taught me many valuable lessons."]