Catalyst Track: The Last Arrow // Day One

This week’s 3-day track comes from the book, The Last Arrow: Save Nothing For the Next Life, written by Erwin Raphael McManus.

You need to act like your life depends on it, because it’s never just your life involved. You need to never settle for less because the world desperately needs everything you can bring to the table. Be careful of embracing the type of spirituality that has a deep disdain for ambition and hides apathy behind a language of simplicity. If you want to live a simple life, that’s a beautiful thing. If you want to use it as an excuse to live beneath your God-given capacity, that is negligence.

In this 3-day track, Erwin challenges us to live for others. He reminds us that sometimes we pray, but sometimes we are the answer to someone else’s prayer when we perform selfless acts of kindness.

Rather than excusing the challenge before you, embrace it with open arms and remember the life God created for you to live. Take the next few days to recognize ways in which you can save nothing for the next life by giving your all to others. Complete the challenges at the end of the day to help guide your reflection.

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DAY 1: A King’s Portion

I have always thought it was odd that people who can create wealth would consider it more spiritual to choose a life of poverty. Poor people don’t choose to be poor. Those who are trapped in poverty do not choose to be trapped in poverty. We do not help the world by choosing to be less or do less; we help the world by choosing to be more and give more. There is no virtue in being given ten talents but choosing to be satisfied with living as if we had only one talent.

Remember that Elisha was angry with King Jehoash because he struck the arrow only three times. I wonder how many of us will find ourselves in a conversation with the Creator of the universe asking us, “Why did you settle for less? Why did you allow your weaknesses to define who you are? Why didn’t you act as if your life depended on it? Why did you give up on life? Why did you give up on me?” You can almost hear the echoes of Elisha’s voice: “Why did you stop striking the arrow?” Stop bemoaning your circumstances. Stop drowning in your despair. Stop using your present crisis as an excuse to shrink back from the challenge before you. Pick up the arrow and strike!

A leper is more powerful than a king if the leper is stepping into the life God created him to live and the king is not. And though they seem to live in completely different worlds, the leper and the king are connected. We are all connected. We need to act as though our lives depend on it, because everything is connected and everything we do matters. We feel this interconnection when someone else’s life affects our lives, and we feel it when someone else’s choices directly affect our choices, but more often than not we underestimate how our lives affect the lives of others.

Reflection: Answer the poll below.

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