I think it’s pretty easy to go through life on auto-pilot. Work—sleep—eat—work, and never think about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. When was the last time you sat down and really asked yourself, “Why do I go to work? Why do I come to church? Why do I have this or that thing?” St. Peter says, "The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled..." (1 Peter 4:7). So let's be more mindful of why we live the way we do and then think about how that impacts the other people in our life and, especially, our life with God. We all need to be mindful of how we live our life—the end is near.

But bottom line, let's love each other. We can’t count on the unbelieving world to care about us as believers. But we can love each other with the love of Christ. So get to know the family of believers. At Good Shepherd's, let's stick around after worship and prove why we desperately need a larger narthex so we can have fellowship with each other and build each other up in the love of Christ. Then when you suffer or when you mess up, you’ll have a brother or sister in the faith right here to love you deeply with the love of Christ. We don’t have much time, so for the rest of your life…live. Live for the end.