I was driving, trying to get home. Staring at the back of the truck in front of me. There was a big sticker on the back window.... "Salt Life". I live in Sarasota, FL so this is a pretty common sight. Everyone loves the idea of living the "Salt Life". The water, the beach, the islands. The idea of living the low stress fun life of the "Salt Life" is something that appeals to a lot of people, myself included. I love being on the water. I love fishing. The reality is that I rarely get to do either of those things. Life happens. Work, family, church, social obligations. I want to live the "Salt Life", but is putting a sticker on my car really going to mean that I truly represent that? Then a thought pops in my head. I shouldn't be wanting to live the "Salt Life". I should be wanting to live His Life. My life isn't mine. Christ bought it. He paid in advance, in full, and in blood.
As Christians, we are called to repay that debt. Not because we could ever repay the incredible gift He has given us, but because, well... He died for us. The son of God sacrificed himself. He made Himself the sacrifice for our sins. He did that for you. He did that for me. He did that because He loves us and desperately wants to be in relationship with us. The Creator of the universe and everything in it wants to be in relationship with you. That's big. That demands a reaction. There isn't a maybe box to check. This is a yes or no thing. Yet I find myself struggling to say yes sometimes. Just being honest. Saying yes seems overwhelming. I'm not sure I'm up to the task. I feel like the freshman getting asked to the prom by the senior. Flattering... but pretty intimating at the same time. I'm broken. I'm weak. I'm not worthy to be in a relationship with God. The beautiful thing is, He is FULLY aware of who I am and He still has His hand out. He still wants to take me to the dance, you too.
God is love. That's profound. Love is not something that God does. It's not one of His character traits or a feeling He gets sometimes. God is love. He invented it. He defines it. Love comes from God. He sent His son to serve as a sacrifice for our sins so that we could live in unity with God through Christ. So that we could be the sons and daughters of the living God! That sounds awesome, but what does that look like? Well... God defines it for us.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 NIV - "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."
I am incredibly convicted by this definition. I find Webster's "strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties" a little easier to swallow. I don't know that I embody what God calls love and I'm certain I'm not alone. I say I love God, but I don't always show that with how I live my life. I don't always interact with others with the love of God in mind. I should, but I don't. It isn't enough for us to love God, we have to love His people.... all of them. Not just the ones in the pews next to us. The ones on the corners of the red light districts, the slums, the honky tonks, the gutters, and those "living in sin" too. Everyone we come in contact with. Everyone we are blessed to influence. We should be loving boldly, without fear. Why are we so afraid? Will someone think we are weird if we are patient and kind? Will we lose friends if we stop being so selfish? Are people going to mock us for being mild tempered and forgiving?
Living His Life isn't about being Billy Graham. That's great if that's you, but that's not most of us. Most of us can show God's love on a daily basis to the handful of people around us. We can make a small difference in the life of someone who needs a little help making ends meet or needs help moving a couch. Life from His Life isn't about solving world hunger, it's about taking a bag lunch to the homeless guy on the corner.... and then actually sitting down to eat your lunch with him and get to know him a little bit. It's about spending some time with the kid who doesn't have a family and taking him to a ball game or a movie. It's about taking a year to go to China to teach English using the Bible. It's about waking up every day and realizing that how we as Christians interact with the world, matters. We represent the Father. The world will base how they view Him by how we treat them. If we are His kids and we don't love them, why should they believe that He loves them? This is why God calls us liars when we say that we love Him. If we truly love Him we will love each other like He loved us.
My vision for His Life is that it will be used to spread the love of God. It will serve as a reminder to Christians that our life is not ours, it's His Life. Don't put the sticker on your car and drive around cutting people off in traffic. Don't walk around with the image on a shirt and think that you're better than the guy sleeping on the bench. The purpose isn't to have another thing that helps Christians feel better about themselves. The purpose is to give Christians a reminder to represent Him better. My prayer is that this will be used as a tool to introduce people to the truth that God is love and that they are the object of His love. That when someone sees the image it will spark their curiosity enough to look up 1 John 4 and they will hear how much God loves them and what He wants all of our lives to look like, lives fearlessly living in love for one another. I want to spread that message. I want to support those who live that message. That's what His Life is about. He gave us Life from His Life... let's live like it!
