and how beautiful, unique and nearly impossible it is
I've written often about the gift we've been given through Jesus, to live a life to the fullest (John 10:10), but today I wanted to ponder more on it.
I recently celebrated my birthday and for the last few years I've felt more of the emotional weight of celebrating what it means to be alive and celebrate another year around the sun.
Especially in the last couple of years, I've experienced very eye-opening, perspective-shifting and heart-changing situations that reveal man's ignorance to thinking we're invincible and rather how precious and fragile life really is.
I think we throw this word around a lot- "life." It's interpreted to mean different things. It's judged and measured by others, and society's barbaric algorithm for what a successful life actually looks like. We way too casually say things like, "she doesn't have a life," or "he needs to get a life."
Depending on where you are in the world, or even the country honestly, the term "life" means very different things. In the very privileged countries, "life" subconsciously feels like obtaining all of the stuff and earthly pleasures we're told we need in order to be happy.
In other parts of the world, I can't help but wonder if "life" is referred to more as the simple yet utterly complex and beautiful thing that it is- simply being alive to experience what God created around and uniquely for you.
I remember interviewing an old teacher of mine for a project in fifth grade and I asked him what the term "success" meant. He spoke well over my eleven-year-old head, but I'll always remember him saying that fame and money had nothing to do with it.
It's an ancient concept found in the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes. I'm sure most people have heard of the oh so uplifting phrase that comes from it "everything is meaningless under the sun." However, as depressing as it may sound, there is point there. It's not that life is meaningless, it's that life isn't found in the statuses, achievements and things we're told and delusion-ally believe we need in order to be happy and "have a life."
Ever experienced the phenomenon of being convinced you'd be satisfied once you finally obtained ___? Then God, who graciously gives all good things, grants this to you and sooner or later you're horrified to discover that your soul again is not satisfied.
We chase and we chase, we envy and compare, we go on "soul-finding" silent retreats and even bring down others who seem content because we can't admit to ourselves that deep down we are so dissatisfied with our lives and we're desperate to find life.
We're confused why we go into financial and emotional debt to obtain what others have, only to realize it for some reason didn't satisfy us. Why? Because life was given and is found only in Jesus. Not what Jesus tangibly gives; Jesus.
The Maker who made you and wrote your entire life knows exactly what things would be or not be uniquely good for you. He made you! Why and how could you think that anyone else knows what you need better than Him?!
Why didn't you find joy in something your friend found joy in? Because you're not her! You're you... It's cheesy and corny to say because it's overused, but the root of this phrase is prophetically profound. There is no one like you. There is no one with your life.
Do you want to know how to live the full life Jesus died to uniquely give you? Seek Him. The writer of Ecclesiastes, who most believe was King Solomon, meant life without Jesus is meaningless. As it's written, you came from dust with nothing, and you will return to dust... with nothing.
When you're in a situation that really puts life in perspective, you very quickly realize that that frivolous things that worried and consumed so much of your life and mental capacity just don't matter.
The opinions of others, being accepted, status, titles, money, appearance, experiences are all blessings from the God who controls every single detail in your life. He does not withhold good things from those who love Him- and remember that you're unique from your neighbor: What's good for him may not be good for you (ever, or right now- trust the One who does know).
Trust the One who made you and knows you and sustains you to give you exactly what you need in a given moment.
I recently heard a brilliant sermon from the Moody Bible Church in Chicago that so perfectly and harshly reminded people that anything God has given to us is. not. ours. It's His. We are stewards of these things, not owners.
There's a Psalm that says everything in the earth is His, for He made it. We did not "earn" anything. Your money, your spouse, your home, your health, your family, your children, your church, your family, anything you have is not yours- it's been entrusted to you by God to steward it in a way that glorifies Him.
Blessings and gifts are wonderful things made to point us to the One who entrusted them to us, not replace Him. Your purpose, value, worth, identity and life are only sustainably found in Him.
When it comes to the physicality of life, if you look at the science of the creation and sustainability of life, it appears nearly impossible to be born and alive. And when you compare this life to the eternity we're offered, life is so unbelievably short. Therefore as Christians, we're just passing through.
So when disappointments, rejections, comments and concerns try to weigh us down, without disregarding how it affected you, try to put it in perspective of what actually matters- where life is ultimately found.
I apologize for the bit of a rabbit hole today; I hope you found something in here that encouraged or inspired you. And if you or a friend have a birthday coming up, I encourage you to celebrate that life.
For someone who has no medical background, it's a little unfathomable to understand how everything miraculously works together to keep someone alive. For me, it ensures that if God is sustaining me (or a friend) to keep us here, it is for a greater reason.
Life is such a gift, friends, so celebrate another year around the sun and confidently live your unique life to the fullest. Thanks for reading :)
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