This is a continuation of my conversation with Pastor Pete.

I  learned that Pastor Pete plays the guitar and sings, and that Treva, his wife of 5 years, sings duets with him.  I knew that seven years ago his first wife, my friend’s mother, had died. And today I learned that Pastor Pete and Treva had both lost their spouses to death, had been lifelong friends and now had married and were in ministry together.

I told him that I, then at age 60, was thought of as just a kid by some of our senior adults. There were some of them that I wanted to turn out to be like and others I hoped I didn’t turn out to be like. I told him that I had been looking for some principles that might be transferable; that younger people could practice in order to prepare for aging. He was graciously listening attentively so I told him the three things I thought I had discovered so far:

1. An ability to process loss given that aging is a diminishing experience,

2. The ability to accept that our bodies are only designed for temporary use. They are supposed to wear out, and

3. To really grasp, at a heart level,  that there either is a God or there isn’t.

After carefully considering my ideas he said he thought the pivotal factor was real commitment. When I asked him to explain what that meant he said “someone whose word is as good as their written account.”

I then asked Pastor Pete what his goals were for the next decade of his life. He readily answered, “To represent Christ in the best possible way that I can. I’m going to do everything that I can for the cause.” Then, almost as an afterthought he added, “the cause of Christ.” It hardly needed to be said as by now it was clear that for him there was no other cause.

Are you living a life for the cause of Christ? If so, share with us some of the ways in which you live out the “cause.” If you haven’t yet discovered the “cause of Christ,” take time today to reflect on the 3 principles I’ve learned so far, and take stock of where you with these.