"Every man dies, but not every man truly lives." ~William Wallace, Braveheart movie
Last week, I listened to a CD from a friend. She had seen me post about how the message from Women's Retreat had really touched me, so she mailed me a Christine Caine sermon on Passionate Living. Her words only fueled the fire that was already burning in my heart. Her enthusiasm stirred the embers. Her excitement was like putting more wood in the pile. Her joy, her passion, her purpose were undeniable. As I listened, something inside me awakened.
I tend to be a practical realist.
BUT, God is working on my heart.
He's transforming me into a passionate dreamer.
He's helping me see the bigger picture of life.
He's reminding me I only have one life to live, so I had better make the most of it.
And to do that, to experience the ABUNDANT life Jesus left heaven and came to earth to offer me, I must lay it ALL on the line, pour myself out, and trust that in losing myself, I will gain EVERYTHING.
And so, I am been mulling over what exactly this means, what this passionate, purposeful living looks like day in and day out.
Part of me is so excited, I want to climb to the tallest mountain and shout at the top of my lungs.
Another part of me, quite a BIG part, is scared to death, terrified of what others will think, worried that people will roll their eyes, call me crazy, ignore me, or perhaps even mock me.
I have to choose which part of me I am going to listen to.
I have decided.
Excitement, enthusiasm, desire, dreams, hopes, goals, prayers, courage, and FAITH have won out.
For today...
You see, it's a DAILY decision.
Not a one time thing.
Rather, each day, moment by moment really, I have to CHOOSE to fix my eyes on Jesus and seek Him, pursue Him, make Him my first priority, and sacrifice all else to get to Him, to know Him, to make Him known.
This type of passionate, purposeful living is not easy.
But it's definitely rewarding.
Totally worth it.
The prize at the end of the race, when I am totally spent and fall flat on my face before Jesus as I cross the finish line, will be more amazing than I can even begin to imagine. I picture my Savior picking me up, looking me square in the eye, embracing me, and whispering in my ear as He holds me tight, "Well done, Sarah. Well done. I am proud of you!"
I get chills just typing that.
I am almost crying.
To know my Jesus is honored by my life, that He is glorified, that He is pleased with me, that I bring Him joy, that I make Him proud...
WOW!!!
Yet, part of me wants to hold back, to play it safe.
I don't want to push any buttons, to step on any toes, to call anyone out, to make anyone uncomfortable, to have anyone feel awkward.
Yet, I do.
I DO want to do all that.
I want to be radical.
Different.
Set apart.
Passionate.
Purposeful.
Excited.
Enthusiastic.
Weird.
Why?
Because that's how my Jesus was.
And He has called me to follow Him, to be like Him.
So, I am giving you all fair warning.
I will NOT be quiet.
I will NOT stand on the sidelines.
I will NOT be indifferent.
I will NOT be passive.
If any of that offends you, I am #SorryNotSorry...
Instead, I am going to be LOUD, active, intentional, eager, earnest, diligent, dedicated, committed.
I am going to be living life to the FULLEST.
I am going to be seeking after Jesus with every fiber of my being.
I am praying for Him to show me His ways and to lead me in them.
I am asking Him for the courage and strength to follow wherever He may take me.
I am trusting Him to provide for me, to satisfy me, to fill me.
I am looking to Him and Him alone.
I am giving Him my heart, my soul, my mind, my everything.
I am going to be passionate and purposeful as I make the most of each day I am given.
Again, if any of that bothers you, I am #SorryNotSorry...
The other day, in the message I was listening to, Christine Caine mentioned how Shirley Valentine (I think that is who she quoted) commented on the sad but true reality, "Most of us are dead before we die, and the thing that kills us is all of this unused life that we carry around."
Well, I have resolved to NOT let that statement be said of me.
Nope.
I'm going to do what Robin Williams challenged his students to do in the movie Dead Poets Society, "Make the decision to suck the marrow out of this thing called life."
The author of Hebrews made much the same summons many, many, many years ago:
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith
(see Hebrews chapter 11 for specific and inspiring examples),
let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.
And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith."
Paul, a man completely changed by Christ and fully committed to living all out for Him, wrote something very similar in his letter to the believers in Rome:
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I PLEAD with you to give your bodies to God
because of all He has done for you.
Let them be a living and holy SACRIFICE - the kind He will find acceptable.
This is truly the way to worship Him.
Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world,
but let God transform you into a new perosn by changing the way you think.
Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."
He didn't just talk about living this way, though. Oh no, Paul actually DID what he said. He poured out his life for Jesus, as we can see in his words to the Philippian church:
"I once thought these things were valuable,
but now I consider them WORTHLESS because of what Christ has done.
Yes, everything else is WORTHLESS
when compared with the INFINITE value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
For His sake I have discared EVERYTHING else, counting it all as GARBAGE,
so that I can GAIN Christ and become one with Him.
I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law;
rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.
For God's way of making us right with Himself depends on faith.
I want to KNOW CHRIST and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead.
I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death,
so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things
or that I have already reached perfection.
But I PRESS ON to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me.
No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it,
but I FOCUS ON THIS ONE THING:
forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,
I PRESS ON to reach the end of the race
and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."
That, my friends, is how I too want to live!
This is how I am committing to living right NOW.
That is how I am going to be living from this moment forward.
I urge you to join me.
Then, we can be #SorryNotSorry together! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment