Let’s Make the Most of the Dash

October 27, 2002

The Rev. Dr. Anthony J. Godlefski, Pastor

Montgomery United Methodist Church

Deuteronomy 34: 1-12

¹Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land-from Gilead to Dan, ²all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea, ³the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. ⁴Then the Lord said to him, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it." ⁵And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the LORD had said. ⁶He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. ⁷Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. ⁸The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over. ⁹Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses. ¹⁰Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, ¹¹who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt-to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. ¹²For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

Matthew 5: 1-12

¹Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ²and he began to teach them saying: 

³"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
⁴Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 
⁵Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 
⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 
⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 
⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 
⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 
¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
¹¹"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Good morning, everyone! If you’ll follow along with me in your Bibles, we’re going to be looking at the story of Moses that we find in Deuteronomy, the 34th chapter, verses 1 through 12. Check this out, and also the Beatitudes, Matthew Chapter 5 – we’re going to be looking at those, too. And what I’d like to talk with you today about is, let’s make the most of the dash. You’ll find out what that means in just a moment.

We’re talking about one of the crowning moments in Moses’ life. The Bible tells us that Moses was led up to a high place, Mount Nebo, and the Lord showed him the fruit of his labor, the fulfillment of his dream. The text goes into all those names that you see in the Bible describing all the territories and the valleys and the mountains and the area around Jericho which is so lush and rich, like an oasis. And Moses stood on the mountain and saw it all. The Lord said, essentially, “Moses, this is as far as you need to come. You may see this destination, but not enter into it. Yours has been the ministry of the journey, but not necessarily the ministry of the destination. Well done, Moses, well done.”

And the Bible tells us that Moses died in that place. It goes on to give a wonderful tribute to him. Did you notice that in verse 10? “Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses whom the Lord knew face to face. He was unequaled for all the signs and wonders that the Lord sent him to perform in the land of Egypt.”

Moses was a success. Moses made the most of the dash. Now, what does that mean? Well, part of the idea comes from an old poem that some of you might be familiar with. I was impressed by the idea anew as I was driving my car on Route 518 from Route 27 toward the church. There was a detour which took me along a little country road called Old Georgetown Road. It took me along a winding road, past farms, until I came to an old cemetery. I don’t know about you, but old cemeteries fascinate me. I took a moment to stop and say a prayer for the folks at rest there and greet them and bless them and read some of the tombstones.

Can I read you one of them? It said, “Friends in Jesus, why those tears o’er my lifeless clay? Could you but see my present bliss, tears to joy would pass away.” Isn’t that wonderful? It was carved on the tombstone of Abraham Quick, August 2nd, 1837.

One of the things I noticed about almost all these graves was that there was a name on them, and there was a date, and another date, and between the dates was a dash. And that dash is a symbol of their living days; all the triumphs and joys and sorrows and stories are in that one little dash.

And so, my message to us today is, “Let’s make the most of the dash!” Guess what? You and I are in the middle of the dash. And that is a miracle of miracles. I don’t know about you, but I get up every morning and say, “Wow! I’m still alive!” What a concept! Do you feel that way? This is a miracle, to get up and look around and breathe and see all this beauty. You’re confronted by your big list of things to do – well, that’s okay! You’re alive. Rejoice! Make the most of the dash.

I tell you the truth, I hear stories from time to time about young people who tell their parents, “You know, Mom and Dad, I’m going to go off to find myself.” Those are scary words, aren’t they? I’m not sure what that means. Is it for us to find ourselves, or is it for us to let God find us? I would suggest the latter. Make the most of the dash, of this remarkable, miraculous, unspeakably wonderful window of time.

How do we do it? If you have a pencil and paper, I invite you to make three dashes on your paper. You might want to refer to this later:

____         ____         ____

Now, the first dash looks ominously like a minus sign. And that dash stands for life without God. It stands perhaps for the time in our lives before we accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. It stands for that time when God really isn’t a big part of things. There’s an emptiness there. That’s the part of us that says, “I gotta find myself,” because that restlessness can only be rested in God. So I invite you, in that dash, to make a vertical line downward:

+

That vertical line downward stands for the time in your life when you invited God to be in your heart. Somebody told me between services that she remembers the very day – do you? Do you remember the day when you invited God to be in your heart, and the change that started to take place? For some of you it was dramatic, and for me it was gradual, but it was there. When you make a plus sign out of the minus, when you invite God into your life, life really begins, and you really begin to make the most of the dash. The first date belongs to God; the last date belongs to God. Let the dash belong to God, too. The first way is to invite God into your life. It’s simple if you haven’t done it. Just say, “Jesus, come be part of my life today. Let us be friends forever. Amen.” Maybe some of our new members joining today are going to be praying that prayer. That’s the first step.

For the second dash, could you make a question mark out of it? Make the bottom of the loop that dash and then continue down:

                    ?

because the second step is to say, “What does God want me to do with my life?” And that’s when it gets exciting, because God has a plan for your life that’s as unique as your fingerprint. Our lives take on energy and meaning when we ask, “What does God want us to do with these days, with this dash?" Maybe it’s something big and great. I know that Phyllis Owens’s father, 73 years old, is going back to Bolivia to help out with a mission effort there. It might be some great thing like that, or some project in the church. It might be a community effort. It might be something small. It might be a ministry to somebody who lives under your own roof. But the question is, “What does God want me to do with my life?” And in following that principle, things get exciting and worthwhile.

Now, I have to tell you something. I wish I could tell you that it’s going to be a totally easy, rosy road. I wish I could tell you that. Friend, I can’t tell you that, because it isn’t Biblical, and it isn’t true. When you say to God, “What do you want me to do with my life?” and you start following, there is a very strong chance that you will come across bumps in the road. I wish I could tell you differently. When you have lots of time, come visit me and I’ll tell you lots of stories.

But, what does Jesus say in the Beatitudes? In verse 11, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of things against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.” Friend, if you’re following the Lord and you run into some bumps or some problems or some people hurt you, say, “Of course. That’s part of what happens. If these are the bumps, this must be the right road.” But, there will not only be bumps; there will be roses, too, rewards and blessings that totally outweigh the other. Step two, ask what God wants you to do – what project, what person, what program. What does God need me to do? I’ll take the bumps, and I’ll move straight on for the Lord.

The third dash, please turn into a star, a line down and two lines diagonally, like an asterisk:

                                        *

Let your light shine; that’s the way to make the most of the dash. What is your light? I know this: every person in this room has a light given to them by God. Let your light shine. What is it? Is it the song in your heart? Is it the music in your soul? Is it your ability with children? Is it your ability to figure things out? Is it your ability to manage things? Is it your kindness? Is it your love? Is it your smile? What light has God put into you? Don’t be embarrassed! It’s a gift! Let it shine.

And if you do, you’ll be making the most of the dash. Yesterday the Starlite Chorale, my singing group, was singing at Roosevelt Hospital. After the show, as we were taking our equipment down and I was watching all the wonderful people and their smiling faces as they returned to their rooms, I noticed one fellow in a motorized wheel chair. He was a black gentleman with a wonderful smile. He left the room, but as he went I noticed that he reached out and grabbed another wheelchair and took it out of the room along with him. Then he came back and he went for another chair and scooted it out of the room, too. He did this over and over.

I said, “Sir, are you a resident here or a volunteer or what?”

He said, “I’m a resident here. I’m also helping out. I like to be useful, and I visit people, and I have prayer meetings with them.

“Will you pray for me?” he said.

I said, “Charles, I sure will, and I’ll invite my people on Sunday morning to pray for you, too.” A wheelchair-bound person, a permanent resident of Roosevelt Hospital, is letting his light shine!

Joyce Buss lives in one of the rooms at Roosevelt Hospital. She can’t get out of bed. Her room is filled with stuffed animals and toys and pictures and pictures of the Lord. You can’t go past her room without noticing her smile. For everyone who goes by, she has a smile. She lets her light shine. What is our problem? What is my problem? We have a mighty light to shine. And friend, I tell you this: along with Moses, if you and I accept the Lord in your life and ask Him what He needs us to do and let your light shine, you and I, like Moses, can hear the voice of the Lord say, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Inherit your Master’s joy.”

Let’s pray together.

Dear Lord God, what is my light? What is my talent? What is it that you’ve given me to do in this dash of years? Let me do it with all my might. Let me sing with all my heart. Let me help with all my strength, and let it be for your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

God loves you, friend. I do, too. God bless you all. Amen.