A Meaningful Life...Who Can Find It?
When I was 15, I was walking home very late one night when, I felt like God was there with me.
It's hard to explain, but in this season marked by rebellion against my family, authority and God Himself, in the quietness of this particular night, I felt God's presence. Nothing audible or visible...jut a sense that He was walking with me. And I responded by raising my fist in the air and with a defiant tone yelled, "Leave me alone!"
I know, weird right?
I can only imagine what someone watching would have thought. Of course you might just say this experience is simply the result of the drugs I had used earlier.
Perhaps.
But 45 years later I could take you to the very spot this happened.
Whatever was going on, I wasn't having anything to do with it. If God was selling, I wasn't buying.
But what if God wasn't selling anything...rather, offering something. What if God is offering life...and not just life but a better life; a meaningful life.
What if.
In John 10:10 Jesus says, "I have come that they would have life, and they might have it more abundantly."
An abundant life. Whatever that is, it sounds pretty good doesn't it?
I didn't want any part of it as a teenager, but now it's all I want. How about you?
But this offering of an abundant life by Jesus begs the question, "How? What is it and how do I get my hands on it?"
I think Jesus gives us a starting point in answering those questions.
"For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it." Luke 9:24
Wait a minute. To have the life I really want, I have to lose it first?
That sounds bizarre doesn't it? And counter-intuitive.
No wonder most people walked away from Jesus. Today culture tells us to get everything we can, get more, be more, just do you, follow your heart, etc etc. Culture says, focus on what doesn't matter, spend more than you have, get more than you need. But Jesus says, we have to give up everything.
Where is Jesus going wth this?
Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
- Deny themselves...hmmm. So I have to give up my plans and way of doing things in order to experience real life?
God is saying I must put aside my own selfish desires, pride, and personal plans to follow God's way instead of my own.
Maybe that's what I was shaking my fist at God, back in the day.
- Take up their cross
Jesus is saying I must be ready to face hard times, trials, and sacrifices for my faith. In Jesus' time, carrying a cross meant a path of suffering. For Him it meant death itself.
- Follow Me
I must live my life the way Jesus lived and let Him lead me every day.
When I see this verse I see 3 three things
- Surrender (deny myself)
- Sacrifice (take up my cross)
- Service (follow Me) Jesus said He did not come to be served but to serve (Mk 10:45)
Is this the abundant life? Are we at least on the right track? Or am I missing something?
If a meaningful life begins with surrender, then we have to choose to stop shaking our fists at God. Maybe that's the place to start.
What do you think?
Until next time - Dan