Picture a lightbulb just barely glowing, the filament giving off just the slightest hint of orange light. Now what if I held up a second lightbulb that was completely off, giving off absolutely no light, and then I ask you if the first lightbulb was 'on' or 'off'. What would you say? Most likely, compared to the second buld which was completely off, you'd say the first was 'on'. Now what if I held up a third lightbulb that shined so bright that the contores of the bulb were not even distinguishable because of the glow. Now would you say the first lightbulb is 'on' or 'off'?
The correct answer is that it depends. If the entire range of a lightbulb's capabilities were between the first and the second then the first would certainly be on. But if the first lightbulb had the potential to shine as bright as the third then we would probably be right to say that, in its present state, that bulb is by all rights off.
With all that in mind, lemme ask just one last question. Is it possible to be living but still not be alive? Everyday we are surrounded by people with a pulse but hardly anything that could be called a very lively life. Since when did our lives get so boring that we sit down in front of the TV and watch other people live their lives?! True we're not dead, but many of us, Christians included, never come close to the quality of life we have the potential of experiencing. Jesus said this when he said, "I came to give you life - life to the fullest." He came not only to save us from going to hell when we die, but to model a quality of life that we could take on and model to the world - now. Jesus would look at the quality of many of our lives and says that's not life at all.
Jesus calls us the light of the world and tells us not to hide our light but shine like a city set on a hill. Would people look at our life and want it? More importantly, would people look at our life and want to know Jesus more? So how do we begin to achieve this quality of life Jesus says is possible? Your passions, your attitude, the rhythm of your day-to-day life - all of these things play into it but there is no simple answer. Jesus does get us a long way there when he said to "seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all these things will be added to you."
I've been thinking a lot about this lately. This is the kind of life I want to live. I'd invite you to think about it as well and feel free to leave your comments.
2 comments :
Awesome words Jason. Words that made something inside me move.
The other day I saw a lisence plate that read 'lost'. After the temporary nostalgia wore off, it occured to me that this is such a big problem today, even in my life at times, that it seems to draw fear and anxiety from unknowable depths. I truly do believe that Christ's message is the 'blueprints' that I need to build my "true living" foundation. But it seems that, at times, my 'lost' flag is in my back pocket. Just waiting to be pulled out and waived. Maybe cause I grow tired of repetitious fighting away a 'easy' detour that won't seem to disappear, or cause the non-glow of that light-bulb burdens my curiosity. I find simple pillars are the best to hold on to...after all...they are on our hearts from birth. So in a struggle, I thank God.
And thank you for the example.
-Colbey
Haha, something inside me moved as well, but I doubt it was what Colbey's talking about.
Just kidding.
A lot of times lately, I'm loving what I'm learning, but realizing that practicing it has confused me more than before. It's a lot of stuff to keep in mind, but it's also simple in that loving God and loving each other is what we need to do. So, shine THAT brightly. People will see it. What's also cool is that God will move in those that need to see it, and they'll see it. And that's all she wrote.
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