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This Is Life, So Live It!
by Brian Cobb
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Ashley was desperate, in a very dark place, dangling by a frayed, wispy-thin thread that was unraveling from the end of her emotional rope. As far as I could tell, she had no spiritual safety net to catch her as she swayed precariously over the Valley of Shadows. No faith for leaping to the other side of the circumstances that had become her glen of gloom.
A cry for help, “I just can’t take it anymore. My life is over.”
She had been enjoying an active and carefree mid-life, seemingly with so much to look forward to, making plans for the future.
“Why now? Why us? Why me?”
Her husband had been horribly injured in an accident, and he was in grave danger of losing his life. Physically, he would never recover. And, yes, soon he would die.
“I don’t have a life.”
“Yes," I replied, "you do have a life. It is not what you want. It is very different than what you have known until now. But you have a life. What you are experiencing right now is still life. The question is, ‘Will you live it?’ Make the most of whatever you have left. That is life . . .”
Ashley did not give me opportunity to share life in Jesus Christ with her. She did not “get it,” and she did not want it. So sad.
But it is not just those who are experiencing extreme change, loss or grief who feel like Ashley. Many young people have experienced similar thoughts and feelings all their lives. Perhaps you.
Victimized. Sexual abuse. The self-distortion of eating disorders. Neglect (has anyone seen Mom or Dad?). Feeling unlovely. Unloved. Escape into the numbness of life-destroying substances. Addiction. Hurt. Pain. Damaged. Depressed. Angry. Bitter. Vulnerable. Pregnant. Change of plans. Guilt. “This can’t be life . . .” Cop-outs. “I’m a product of my environment.”
Many of us are still waiting for life to begin . . . if it ever does.
“Maybe, someday, I might have a life.”
Yes, maybe, but only if you decide to “get a life.”
Even in the absence of a personal tragedy or precipitating event, so many of us still waste what could be -- and should be -- life.
Some of us have our heads and hearts bogged down in the past, stuck in the mire of what was or was not, letting the frustrations and failures of the past rob today of its potential and power. For those of us who merely exist in yesterday, very little (if any) real life in the present happens, because we don’t see or seize its opportunities. We cannot live out today successfully while we are twisted around, bent out of shape, glaring resentfully at yesterday. Life is about getting better, not being bitter. Life moves forward, not backwards. Life is progress, not regress.
Others of us seem always to be living in the future, never content with the here and now. Let's face it, we all find it easier to change our circumstances than to change ourselves. So it's a great temptation to exist in tomorrow. After all, real life will begin when we graduate, after the next move, at the new job, or with a different lover. Meanwhile, life passes by while we are making other plans. Visions of the future may guide us in shaping the present. But life occurs in the reality of here and now, not in quantum leaps to visit a fantasy dimension in a time warp. Life is changing ourselves, even if (and even as) we change our circumstances.
Listen, we’ve only got one shot at this life. We only have so much time to move around on this ball of mud wearing flesh and making decisions that affect both now and forever. So what are you going to do with your life?
Grieve over its losses? Or rejoice in its possibilities?
Throw it away? Or recycle it?
Flush it down the sewer of this world? Or launch it into heavenly glory?
Take it to the devil? Or give it to God?
If you give your life to God, He will give back to you a life that is bigger and better and brighter than any so-called "life" this world has to offer. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10, NIV). Jesus offers you life. Take Him up on it.
Abundant. Purposeful. Joyful. Secure. Loved. Saved. Eternal . . . Life!
Get a Life! Now and Forever.
Brian Cobb has served the Manhattan, Kansas, church and Cats for Christ at KSU as preaching minister since March 1994. He functions as editor for the Kansas Directory of Churches of Christ, a publication he started in 1988. A CCW board member, Brian serves Campus CrossWalk in the role of web designer and Internet administrator.
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