We invest our time and energy, and we expect a certain outcome or reward. The paper announced an Orionid meteor shower in the early morning and I thought I’d take a chance on seeing them. Orion is easy to spot, the stars line up to make the hunter’s belt and down from that is his recognizable dagger. Since it’s one of the easier constellations to spot, I felt confident I could locate Mr. Orion in the early morning eastern sky.
After some false starts, I pull myself out of bed and on to a lawn chair over by the wall in our backyard. The wall blocks the streetlight as I gaze into the heavens and see clouds. Finally the clouds part. As my eyes adjusted to the dark, Gemini, Orion’s neighbor, comes into view. I’d read to look in that direction and expect to see 15 to 30 meteors every hour.
After a long wait, a quick, bold and brilliant streak comes across the sky. Present. Bright. Then gone. In an instant. Leaving a clear impression on my mind. The clouds come back and just like that, it’s over.
I felt fortunate for having seen my single meteor. But then, I wonder how I would have felt had I made the effort and seen nothing at all. The truth is, I’d have gotten up anyway.
I heard some friends talking about doing things “because you do them” -not because you necessarily feel like it, but because it’s the right thing to do. Certainly an early morning chill was not an inviting thing and I didn’t “feel like” getting up.
We Christians believe there is reward in heaven. We do what we do with that in mind and because it’s the right thing to do. We Christians don’t always get the reward we think we will get. We invest here but when will we see our reward? Somewhere. Sometime. Then always.
