Zen master Rikyu said: “Life is impossible. Let’s do something feasible well. Maybe then life is possible,”* Why is a Christian pastor quoting a Buddhist teacher? Because this quote from a book by a Benedictine monk summarizes something I have long believed.

Life is tough. It’s complicated. It’s overwhelming. A lot of the time I’d like to crawl into a hiding place and stay there like a bear hibernating in his den. I just want to get away from it all because I don’t seem to make a difference. And yet . . .

The “do something feasible” Riyku refers to is serving  a cup of tea. If you’ve seen the Japanese tea ceremony, you know what doing something “well” means.

It took me years to learn I couldn’t fix everything, but I could do a few things and I should do those things to the best of my ability. I strive to do my few things as best as I can–no half-way jobs. Always make your best effort. My father taught me that.

Does this have anything to do with Christianity? How about this teaching from Colossians: “whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” If we do something in Jesus’ name, it should be the best we can do. Trim the grass, bake a cookie, tell a little one a story, encourage a friend, fix a neighbor’s door, sew a quilt, make a cup of tea.  Do the best you can in Jesus’ name. Maybe then life will be possible.

Read Colossians 3:15-17 and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne

*Sixteenth century Japanese Zen teacher quoted by Benoît Standaert in Spirituality: An Art of Living, p. xiv.