Fifteen college students in the Northwest gathered in a friend’s apartment to pray for the 10 families in Haiti who would receive the buckets of food they put together. Each five-gallon bucket filled with various food staples has the makings of 100 meals and is meant to feed a Haitian family for a week.

After sharing a meal together, a group of students get ready to pray for families in Haiti before assembling food-filled Buckets of Hope.

Members of Resonate Church were eager to take a Spring Break trip to Haiti to minister amidst the devastation from the earthquake: however, such a trip was not practically feasible. The Lord made another way, though, for the church to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the poverty-stricken families living in Haiti.

A tangible way for the body of Resonate to serve Haiti was to join with other Southern Baptists across the country to assemble and pray over these Buckets of Hope. Southern Baptist in the Northwest, in Texas and everywhere are unified in their pursuit of missional living.

Baptist Disaster Relief teams have the ability to deliver and distribute these food-filled buckets into the hands of the people in great need of both physical and spiritual nourishment. The story of Jesus will be included in their language, and this story carries with it the transforming power of hope in Christ for those who believe. Pray for the families in Haiti to learn of God’s strong love for them and learn to live in trustful reliance on their Maker, who is their Sustainer.

Twelve Resonate small groups—called Villages—meet in homes weekly to share a meal and fellowship. Villages were encouraged to participate and assemble as many Buckets of Hope as possible. International Village, made up of students from various faiths and backgrounds, rallied around this cause and donated to help make buckets, too.

Students enjoy filling Buckets of Hope for Haiti in an assembly line operation.

One girl from China said, “It allows me to be apart of something bigger, and do more than what I could do on my own.” Each week these international students, who do not personally know Jesus, come to cook, eat and hang out. My friends and I read and study the Bible with them and they enjoy asking questions. They knew the buckets would be given in the name of Jesus, and they were excited.

Each bucket requires about $40 to cover the food contents and shipping costs. Predominantly made up of college students, the Resonate body was able to put together around 80 buckets of hope. Students inspired students as they sacrificially and generously gave towards a cause that fulfilled the mandate of Jesus to provide for the poor and care for the afflicted.

Jane Owen is a student missionary correspondent serving with Go Now Missions in the Pacific Northwest.

God opened doors for Resonate Church to partner with Redeemed Girl Ministries to host a “Girls Night Out” event for sorority women from the University of Idaho and Washington State University.

Between the University of Idaho and Washington State University, around 350 sorority women attended the Girls Night Out event, where they heard the gospel on their campuses. Marian Jordan, founder of the ministry and author of Sex and the City Uncovered, shared her story about when she filled her sorority years with boys, beer and material things. She emphasized that this lifestyle never ceased to leave her emptier than before. Her testimony exposes the emptiness of “hookups, hangovers, and heartbreak.”

Jourdan Burks, a singer/songwriter from Dallas, provided entertainment. 

The culture of this world promotes a life of momentary pleasure and self-satisfaction as the greatest attainable happiness. This culture-generated lie only leads to a vast amount of college women searching for love in all of the wrong places and putting their hope in things that cannot fulfill them.

Jordan spoke with passion and purpose. From a fresh perspective, she communicated the gospel to spiritually lost women in a relevant way. These students could identify with Jordan’s story. Many said her story was their story — that they were empty, felt worthless and longed for a love that would never manipulate or abandon them. Afterwards, the sorority women filled out connection cards with their information. This event dealt with real issues college women face. More importantly, it introduced them to the unfailing, stable and perfect love of Jesus Christ.

Sorority women show off their door prizes.

Many girls wrote significant messages communicating their need for prayer. The Holy Spirit certainly captured hearts and drew individuals to the Lord through Girls Night Out. Sixteen young women checked the box on the card that indicated they wanted to talk to someone about having a personal relationship with Jesus.

The women on Resonate’s staff and I have the privilege of following up with these girls who were bold enough to say they want to know Jesus personally. For follow up, we invited them to Resonate, and book clubs have been offered on the campuses to go through Jordan’s books. A handful of sorority girls’ hearts on these campuses have been ignited with a passion for more of Jesus. We pray it will set their hearts — and those campuses — ablaze with an outpouring of God’s Spirit.

Jane Owen is a student missionary correspondent serving with Go Now Missions in the Pacific Northwest.

Like so much about Baylor University, Kenneth Starr’s election as president has been fraught with discord. What is the way forward for Starr and for Baylor?

On one hand, many members of the “Baylor family” and others have praised Starr’s selection. They cite his: International name recognition, active Christian faith, high regard as attorney and judge, unprecedented improvement of the Pepperdine School of Law, advocacy for the rule of law as special investigator in the Clinton administration, skill as a fund-raiser, and lack of ties to Baylor and its decade-long “fight.”

On the other hand, many have criticized Starr’s election. They point to his: Early affiliation with the Church of Christ, current attendance at a CofC congregation, longtime membership in a nondenominational church that seems more fundamentalist than Texas Baptist churches, affiliation with Southern Baptists who opposed Texas Baptists and Baylor, apparent ease with which he switches denominations, the high-profile investigation of Bill Clinton and the controversial engagement in California’s Proposition 8.

Both sides cite facts and logic. But, of course, human beings cannot be reduced to facts, nor are they ruled by logic. Ken Starr is a human being and therefore more complex than his advocates’ and detractors’ litanies. So, he most likely will be neither the super-hero for which his fans long, nor the evil villain his foes fear. Besides, no matter what fans or foes think, the regents have voted. He will become Baylor’s 14th president June 1.

Ultimately, Starr’s tenure at Baylor will not be judged by the resume he brings to office. His years in the Church of Christ and his experience as special investigator shaped him, but they will not determine whether he succeeds at Baylor. His legacy depends upon what he does at and for Baylor. Here are some goals to which he should aspire:

1. Extend Baylor’s legacy as distinctively Texas Baptist. This is not too much to ask. Baylor would not exist had not Texas Baptists birthed and nurtured it. This also is not parochial. Half of Baylor’s motto is “Pro Ecclesia.” Other schools serve specific aspects of the church—fundamentalist, liberal, evangelical, Catholic. The Texas Baptist/historic Baylor ethos is unique and deserves to be preserved. It’s theologically conservative, but not fundamentalist; expansive enough to welcome students and faculty of other Christian denominations; compassionate to serve all God’s children. Nor is this provincial. The other half of Baylor’s motto is “Pro Texana.” Baylor is Texan, and most of its students and alumni are Texans. Similar schools serve other states and regions. Texas needs Baylor to be uniquely Baylor.

2. Lead everybody, including the regents. Baylor has a strong-willed board of regents. The problem is strong boards are prone to overstep their bounds. Boards should set policy but leave administration to the administrators. Starr must exercise the gravitas of his reputation and provide a pattern for how boards respect the balance of power and duty.

3. Heal the rift. This is crucial; Baylor cannot be all it must be if it remains divided. While fault can be found all around, the primary reason for the divide is the denigration of Baylor’s past. Starr should start the healing by making amends to all alumni as well as to family and friends who love Baylor’s previous presidents.

4. Balance excellence. The root of the recent rift has been an interpretation of Baylor 2012 that implies Baylor’s historic reputation for greatness in the classroom impedes it from becoming a top-tier research institution, which is the benchmark for acclaim. These are not mutually exclusive, and Starr must prove it. He can start by studying the School of Social Work, which manages both to the Nth degree.

5. Raise money. Baylor needs a $2 billion endowment. If Starr meets the first four goals, this one will fall into place.

Marv Knox is editor of the Baptist Standard. Visit his FaithWorks Blog.

Irreplaceable.

That’s the first word that came to mind when my friend David notified me Bill Wright died.

Bill got sick with cancer last fall. At first, the prognosis looked awful, and then it seemed better. But after awhile, Bill’s doctors realized the disease that overpowered his body could whip any medicine they might inject into the fight.

Still, it’s impossible to wrap your mind around the idea that a vibrant, energetic force of nature like Bill Wright could get sick and die.

Bill and I met years ago, when he served on the Texas Baptist State Missions Commission. Bill stood out because of his humor. Well, that and his big, gruff bark of a voice. And his toothy grin.

Weighty business always packed the commission’s agenda. So, we didn’t get a chance to visit long, much less get acquainted, until the time I mentioned I figured I would drive through Plains on a trip to see my grandmother in Roswell, N.M.

“That’s right. You’ll drive straight through Plains,” Bill confirmed. “And if you don’t stop and visit me, I’ll never speak to you again.” He probably said something else about having me drawn and quartered.

When I pulled into Plains, I thought about driving straight through. That would’ve been one of the biggest mistakes I ever could’ve made. I can’t comprehend how much poorer my life would have been without Bill’s friendship.

Bill showed me around the church, and we talked so long (Lord, Bill could talk) that it was getting on toward evening. So, Bill insisted I stay for dinner before heading to Roswell.

We sat in Lalito’s Tex-Mex restaurant for a couple of hours, and then and there I fell in love with Bill Wright. He knew everyone who walked through the door—whether they were Baptist or Catholic or Methodist or nothing. Bill knew their life stories and all about their families. Obviously, Bill loved them all—the whole town. And not surprisingly, they all loved him.

As we talked, I understood Bill loved me, too, and I couldn’t help but love him.

I also grew to respect him enormously. Many times, I told him he’s the most underrated pastor I’ve ever known.

Most folks don’t expect much from small-town churches and their preachers. But with Bill’s leadership—fake-grouchy and full of humor, passion and love for people—First Baptist in Plains became one of the greatest churches anywhere.

I don’t have space to tell you all about Bill and Linda Wright and that church. But they excelled in disaster relief, missions, ministry to the community, worship, Bible study, and also love for God, love for the world and love for each other.

Right now, I can’t comprehend the fact I’ll never pick up the phone and hear that foghorn of a voice ask, “What you doin’, Knox?” But I know thousands of folks will be listening for Bill’s big, burly laugh when we join him in heaven.

Some people act as if the Ten Commandments were the only ethical guidelines in the Old Testament. Aren’t ethical values stated in other ways in the Old Testament?

The Old Testament states ethical values in a variety of ways. They include absolute commands, conditional commands, proverbs, prophesies and narratives.

The Ten Commandments are prime examples of absolute commands. They give no conditions and usually are short and succinct. This kind of command appears to have been unique to the Old Testament in the time it was written.

Conditional commands, usually have an “if … then” form. They prescribe just remedies for various circumstances. For example, Exodus 21:12-14 says anyone who strikes a man and kills him shall be put to death. If he didn’t kill him intentionally, he can flee to a place of refuge. But if he killed him intentionally, he is to be executed. Absolute commands are easier to apply to our ethical reflection than conditional ones. However, conditional commands provide important data for making moral decisions.

The book of Proverbs also is a valuable source of ethical guidelines. For example, Proverbs 7:1-27 warns against sexual sin and shows the harm such sin brings. Proverbs 10:1-11:31 contains a collection of varied wise sayings, many of which touch on moral questions. These sayings include admonitions to honesty, integrity and generosity.

The prophets have much to say on ethics, particularly in the area of social justice. Amos prophesied against oppression of the poor, sexual immorality and idolatry. Isaiah pointed out his people’s hypocrisy as they worshipped the Lord and then went forth to commit injustices. Jeremiah admonished Judah to administer justice “every morning” and rescue from the oppressor’s hand the one who had been robbed. In response to the question, “What does the Lord require of you?” Micah said, “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

The Old Testament also weaves ethical material into its narratives. The account of creation in Genesis provokes moral reflection on a variety of topics, including the sanctity of life, the meaning of marriage, the goodness of God’s creation and human stewardship of the earth. Genesis 3:1-24 addresses human brokenness, human responsibility for moral behavior and the temptation to rebel against God. The story of Joseph’s life gives ethical instruction on morality, integrity and forgiveness. The powerful account of God’s deliverance of his people in the book of Exodus notes God’s concern for oppressed people and judgment on their oppressors. The story of David’s sin with Bathsheba considers issues like sexual morality and the abuse of power.

As we formulate our ethical positions, we do well when we include all these forms of Old Testament Scripture.

Robert Prince, pastor

First Baptist Church, Waynesville, N.C.

Right or Wrong? is sponsored by the T.B. Maston Chair of Christian Ethics at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology. Send your questions about how to apply your faith to btillman@hsutx.edu.

I am leading study tours in Israel and Egypt as you read this column. In preparing for our trip, I was researching Middle Eastern culture and politics when this statement stopped me cold:

“Arabs and Muslims are victims of an imperialist-Zionist conspiracy aided by reactionary regimes in the Arab world. It has as its goal keeping the Arabs and Muslims backward in order to exploit their oil riches and prevent them from becoming as strong as they used to be in the Middle Ages—because that is dangerous for Israel and Western interests.”

This is the “meta-narrative” which drives a wedge between the West and Islam and leads radical Muslims into terrorism, according to Lahcen Haddad, a political scientist at Rabat University in Morocco. Thomas Friedman’s recent New York Times column on the Middle East quotes Haddad and calls for Americans to build an “alternative story based on responsibility, modernization, Islamic reformation and cross-cultural dialogue.”

Reading Friedman, I was motivated to learn more about the Muslim view of world history. I found a remarkable guide in Tamim Ansary’s Destiny Disrupted: a history of the world through Islamic eyes.

Ansary grew up in Afghanistan, where his father taught science and literature while his American mother taught English. He moved to America as a student and became one of the finest writers I’ve read in years.

Here are some insights I noted in reading world history through Muslim eyes:

• The Middle “East” is only “east” if you’re in Europe and America. A less Western-centric name is the Middle World—situated between the Mediterranean world and the Chinese world.

• Islam is a global community—the “Umma”—not an enculturated religion. Said differently, the world of Islam is a religion of nations, not nations with religions. As a result, the Palestinian issue affects and motivates Muslims everywhere, including those outside the Arab world.

• The military victories which marked Islam’s early expansion were believed to be miraculous proof of divine sanction, similar to the Exodus for Israel and the Resurrection for Christians. The decline of Islam as a military power in recent centuries has been interpreted by radical Muslims as divine judgment on their people for allegedly submitting to Western culture and political alliances.

• “Shari’a,” often called “Muslim law” in the West, encompasses all of Islamic life as the revelation and will of Allah. Radical Muslims therefore reject democracy—the laws of men—for the revealed laws of God.

• Medieval Muslims invented algebra, laid the foundations of chemistry as a discipline and created the best hospitals the world had ever seen. While Europe was suffering through its Dark Ages, Muslim scholars were reading Aristotle and building a progressive society.

• Turkish invasions, followed by Christian Crusaders (1095-1291), were devastating to the Arab Islamic world. Radical Muslims blame the West for subjugating their culture, leading to the meta-narrative Haddad describes.

What does all of this mean for Christians concerned about the Muslim world and the “war on terror”? Friedman is right: cross-cultural dialogue is essential. Reading Ansary is a good place for Western Christians to begin.

James C. Denison is president of the Center for Informed Faith and theologian-in-residence with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

“I've never met a person who intended to ruin his or her life. It's the tiny transgressions, the minor deceptions, the trivial decisions that start the slide into the swamp. If we turn down the lights slowly enough, our eyes adjust to the dark. So do our souls.”

Jim Denison

BGCT theologian-in-residence and president of the Center for Informed Faith (ABP)

“I wouldn't give Hollywood too much credit for finding religion. When they’re not making money off it, they’ll lose it again.”

Scott Mantz

Access Hollywood film analyst, on the film industry’s current interest in religion-related movies, such as The Book of Eli and The Blind Side (USA Today/RNS)

“I am what we should be—that is, post-ideological. We are to be about healing, not division. We are not to be subservient to ideology, but above it.”

Richard Cizik

President of the New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, defending himself against criticism he has been co-opted by liberals (Newsweek/RNS)

Baylor & Starr

My friends on the Baylor University board of regents are urging patient understanding from our Texas Baptist family concerning the appointment of Kenneth Starr as president of the university.

The call to reason and patience—two clear scriptural virtues—is timely for those of us who are confused and dismayed by this appointment. Because we all, as the Apostle Paul reminds us, “see through a glass darkly,” we must be open to perspectives different from our own and possibilities other than those we can imagine.

But given the consistent hijacking of Baptist soul freedom by the forces of conformity over the past 30 years, it seems to me that skepticism is the reasonable response to this decision.

Charles Foster Johnson

Desdemona

The biggest “tell” in your interview with Ken Starr, Baylor’s new president, (published online Feb. 16 and in this edition of the Standard) is his comment that “Baylor is particularly well suited to reflect on the growth of the central government.” Notice that he did not say the “role” but the “growth” of the central government. And this is to be Baylor’s focus in looking at the world?

This man comes with an unsurprising political agenda, which he already has broadcast in his interview with the Standard.

No one can say they weren’t warned.

Hal Wingo

Santa Fe, N.M.

Quality over quantity

Thanks for “Balancing quantity & quality of life” (Feb. 15). In October, the doctor said to me, “I can’t cure your cancer.” I pleaded, “Please, doctor, do chemotherapy or something.” He told me he could not cure it, and the chemo would end my quality of life. Of course, we shed our tears. But I have since thanked my doctor for his courage. Other doctors would have treated me.

Three days after my news, I was in Salado performing a wedding. I phoned my dear friend Chaplain Dale Moon and asked him to give a eulogy about my Army career at my funeral. He was so healthy, took no medication, and I knew he cared deeply for me. On Feb. 2, I gave Dale’s eulogy at First Baptist Church in McKinney and told of his tremendous Army career. Wearing the Army blue uniform again, I saluted that flag over his casket with pride and joy.

The last five months have been among the greatest days of my life. I eat well, sleep well and have not been sick in years. I am reminded daily of my swollen lymph nodes, but I still walk my dog, Daisy, 30 minutes down by Lake Lewisville bi-daily.

I may have days or years to live, but it really doesn’t matter. Today is the day that the Lord hath made.

Jack Milligan

Lewisville

Following God

I wonder if Joe Tom Poe, author of Life at 80 As I Have Lived It (Jan. 18) remembers everything about his youth. My family lived down the road from Paul and Mae Poe in Eastland County, about two miles from Long Branch Baptist Church. I remember Joe Tom had an inquiring mind when he was 2 and 3 years old. When his parents would call to tell us they were coming to visit, we got busy and put everything up beyond his reach and closed doors to rooms where we did not want all of the drawers opened. Joe Tom liked to look at anything in the drawers, pick up and look at anything that was in reach. I know because I was there, too.

I am so proud to have known someone who has been such a wonderful example of what God calls him to do. I will certainly buy the book and read it.

I will be 90 years old in June, and I remember things, too.

Nell Been Davis

Elgin

In Luke 11, one of Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray. He had just observed Jesus praying and realized how critical it was to Jesus’ ministry. Jesus began to teach them by sharing Luke’s example of the Model Prayer and then two parables about prayer.

One of the parables is a parable of contrast, and the other is a parable of comparison. The contrast is a story of the grumpy neighbor who was awakened at midnight and asked for bread. His friend had awakened him to ask for bread to serve his unexpected guest. It has been said he may not have had bread, but he certainly had plenty of crust for harassing his neighbor in the middle of night.

Some have thought this is a parable encouraging persistence. Yet the word translated “persistence” also means “shamelessness.” God is not impressed by our begging and nagging. Persistence is an important quality for intercessory prayer, but this parable teaches God is not like the reluctant neighbor but is like a loving father who is eager to answer our prayers.

A loving father gives good gifts to his children. He will not give them a snake when they ask for a fish or a scorpion when they ask for an egg. With God, when we ask, we receive. When we seek, we find. When we knock, it shall be opened.

The key components of Texas Hope 2010 are prayer, care and share.

It is exciting to hear the stories of unique ways folks are sharing Christ’s hope with friends, family, neighbors and even strangers.

Hunger projects are under way to ensure every person in Texas has a nutritious meal every day.

Yet the key to a spiritual awakening in Texas is prayer. Jesus teaches us God answers prayer. In the Model Prayer, Jesus gives us permission to come before the God of all creation and address him as Father. In the Old Testament, God is referred to as Father only 15 times. Yet Jesus addresses God as Father 170 times in the gospels. Abba, Father is similar to sounds infants make when speaking to their parents—papa, mama or daddy.

Calling God “Father” has nothing to do with sexuality. It has everything to do with intimacy. It is amazing that we have the privilege of coming into the presence of the I Am and calling him Abba.

I recently went to Venezuela, where Texas Baptists are involved in a three-year partnership. I witnessed their commitment to prayer. They encourage divine hours of prayer every day—at 6 a.m., 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. They have been praying faithfully for Texas Hope 2010 for the last two years. In the church where I preached, they filled the altar—two or three deep—and the aisles with men and women bowing before the Lord, crying out to God in prayer during the invitation.

Spiritual transformation will come to Texas only when God’s people commit themselves to pray. When we do, God will answer.

Randel Everett is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.

My grandfather—Class of “Naughty-five” at Purdue University—was a civil engineer, builder and inventor imbued with an American “can-do” spirit.

He worked on a great dam project in the Northwest, when a new nation tamed rivers, spanned canyons and enabled populations to expand.

He served in the cavalry during World War I, returned to Indiana, invented a machine for canning tomatoes and started a company. He lived simply, educated his daughters and was a loyal Mason, churchgoer and citizen.

I contrast him with today’s bright stars, who amass fortunes by managing wealth that someone else created and prey on the unwary. They invent games and entertainment devices but rig systems like health care and education to their benefit. Too often, they profit from others’ travails.

They live extraordinarily large and leave military duty and community service to others. They evade whatever taxes they can and see education as credentialing for accumulating wealth, not for building useful infrastructure, products and services.

No wonder America’s bridges are crumbling. No wonder China is leaping ahead of us in technology, transportation and efficient power, while we lack the political will to fix broken systems, much less invest in new ones.

No wonder automakers keep cycling back to the easy days. No wonder we are buried in debt from spending money we didn’t have and are vulnerable to the medieval feuds of religious extremists sitting atop oil we can’t imagine living without.

No wonder newspaper headlines tell one corruption story after another. When “get mine” replaces “can do,” all restraints vanish. Civic virtue is for suckers, and dirty-hands work is for losers. Self-sacrifice and personal ethics give way to the smug pieties of religious ideology.

No wonder the self-described “greatest nation” and its audacious “experiment in democracy” are floundering in the hands of obstructionists whose only goal is to gain power and its financial benefits, as ideologues harvest anger and anxiety in seeking to turn citizens against each other.

The blindness of self-serving is rampant. In a Sunday school class discussing their congregation’s dwindling fortunes—empty pews, lifeless services, minimal ministry—most were eager for change and growth. But a noisy few carried the day. “I grew up here, I like the church, it does not need to change,” said one.

“We’ve heard these arguments before. Leave it the way it is,” said another. “If you don’t like our church,” one suggested, “why don’t you go to another?” And then this: “We don’t need those people who leave.”

Such sentiments violate the gospel and guarantee the death of an institution. Yet they prevail because few have the courage to resist nihilism. Conflict-avoidance seems safer than the risks, tussling and hard work that are required to build something.

How bad is it? These feel like the latter days of the Roman Empire, when an effete and corrupt ruling class lived large at others’ expense. Or the early days of repression, when demagogues promise easy answers, scapegoat the vulnerable, and flatter people while seizing power from them. Religion, meanwhile, goes silent in order to protect its franchise.

I look for spine, like my grandfather had. Not the bullying of demagogues or the phony certainties of fundamentalism. Not smug entitlement, but spine, a can-do spirit, a belief in hard work and risk-taking, a joining of hands in great endeavors, living simply, and serving others.

Tom Ehrich is a writer and church consultant. He is the author of Just Wondering, Jesus. (RNS)

All Peter's practice as a boy will one day pay off.

Once upon a time, our family went to church with a man who wanted to live to be 140 years old.

He reportedly decided the key to longevity was eating garlic. Lots of garlic. Copious amounts of garlic. He served as our church’s Sunday school record-keeper, and his penchant for consuming mass quantities of garlic provided an indirect benefit for all the teachers: Before we ever entered our classrooms, we could tell if he’d delivered our attendance rolls. Whiff of garlic equals record books.

He kept the Sunday school records in a small, windowless office heated by a radiator. The space doubled as the Lost & Found room. At the time, our younger daughter, Molly, was about 6 or 7 years old, and she lost her white sweater. So, one Lord’s Day, we trekked through the basement catacombs to sift the detritus of left-behind things. It was a cold morning, and the radiator was cranked up, and the heat energized all those pent-up garlic fumes. We thought we would choke before we found the sweater. On the way back upstairs, Molly told me, “Daddy, if I had to smell like garlic all the time, I don’t think I’d want to live to be 140 years old.” Ah, the wisdom of youth.

The latest issue of U.S. News & World Report focuses on “How to Live to 100.” But Molly’s comment raises at least a couple of good questions: Why would anyone want to live to be extremely old? And how hold is old enough?

The first question surfaces often, in many contexts. Its poignancy appears most powerfully when an elderly person questions the accumulation of years. Grammar, my grandmother, will mark her 99th birthday this spring. She has told God and her family she is ready to live as long as the Lord wills, but she also reminds all of us (God included) she is ready to go home to heaven as soon as the Lord allows. Popo, her husband and my grandfather, has been gone almost a quarter-century. In fact, she has been the lone survivor of her generation in our family and her circle of friends for many years. Age exacts a toll on her body every day. She remains faithful, and yet she knows the reward of heaven is sweeter than any earthly tomorrow.

Surely, a Christian answers the “Why?” question differently than an unbeliever. If this physical life is ultimate, then struggle for every day, no matter what. But if this life is but one phase of eternity, then steward it well and anticipate the opportunities of heavenly commune with God and all the saints who have gone before.

That begs the second question, which isn’t really that difficult. Our task is not to worry about the number of years we accumulate. The Bible teaches us our bodies are temples of God, and we should treat them well. But we should leave the length of their existence up to God.

If we turn from fretting over the quantity of our years, we can focus on the quality of our days. Our bodies are the tools of our souls, and their purpose is to enable us to love and glorify God and do God’s work in this world. We should take care of them so they serve that purpose for as long as God desires, not so we can acquire birthdays as if they were any other brightly wrapped package.

So, when we turn our attention to the quality of our days, we think about how best to fulfill God’s purpose in this life. You can think of many ways to do that, but here’s a starter list:

• “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and “love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:39-31).

• Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

• Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, take in the stranger, clothe the naked, look after the sick and prisoners (Matthew 25:34-46).

• Go and make disciples, baptizing and teaching them (Matthew 28:19-20).