Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Get a life!

Is "getting a life" a subjective thing? Or are there some hard and fast guidelines in how to build a life?

A "life" could be described as meaning, or purpose. You may have a friend who spends most of her spare time watching sitcoms, going to the movies, playing video games and eating out with friends. That friend, for instance, may or may not be happy, but the point is, she finds her meaning (evidently) in entertainment. A lot of people do (at least in the western world). It's so easy to in our pleasure driven society.


The key is to find meaning in those things that last. What lasts? I think: Relationships- how we "deal" with God, the impact we have on people and that people have on us (good or bad), the Bible ("Heaven and earth shall pass away but my word shall remain...") and mmmm, not much else. Right? Am I forgetting something important?

Now, other things matter too (I think): Godliness (Paul says it is "great gain") and work to help people ("faith without works is dead" and "true religion is this: to look after widows and orphans..."). I also think that God creates each of us with a distinct purpose in life: (in my mother's womb...you formed me, you knew each day before I lived- Ps. 139, I can't remember it word for word) I think the purpose ALWAYS equals people choosing Christ because of us.


Specifically for instance, I think part of my purpose in this world is to:

Love and encourage my brothers and sisters to live for God

Be a musician who honestly and creatively relates to people in terms of songs about God, life, people etc.

Help orphans in desperately poor countries

So, when I say "Get a life!" I'm meaning..."Find your life purpose and get on it. Define the dream and start working towards it." I'm not saying "Medicate your pain, or entertain yourself by cooking, reading, watching tv or hanging out with friends." (Those aren't bad things...it's just what form we let them take in our lives.)


Any thoughts on this HUGE topic?


2 comments:

meganmariec said...

Hmm....i kind of feel my toes being stepped on. I agree that this is a massive topic, and I guess more than anything your blog has just made me think. Relatioships, helping God (which usually means helping others!) and being all we can be seems huge to me. How much simplier it all would be if we could just medicate our pain and then not have God care! But life is not about me I guess, and so I hope I can do my part to reach others around me.

The Amber Canary said...

Ya, it is so big. And ya, it would be so much easier if it were all about me being happy. Then I could just do whatever I wanted and not care about anything else. : ) Well. That IS what I do sometimes. Yikes.

Here's to being like Jesus!