In our culture, there is always discussion about living the “good life”. What that looks like for everyone seems to be a little different. For some, living the good life means chasing the American dream. Having a house, husband/wife, a couple of kids, a nice retirement account, etc. may be a part of this. Or for some, having the good life means chasing career goals and achieving great wealth.
But what if it’s not about any of that? As a Christian, it’s really hard living in our culture because we have to constantly reconcile scriptural messages with those of our culture. How do we deal with verses like this? “Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24) While we may not see it, living in America makes most of us richer than the majority of the globe could ever dream. And it’s always a hard thing to try to balance being a Christ follower with the goals that we have as Americans. I think that’s where we find the problem, because we can’t “balance” this. For me, being a Christ follower is about going all in. He calls us lay everything down and follow Him.
While I will never get this right, I think that maybe living the “good life” is simply about laying down our selfish desires, our hunger for comfort, and our emphasis on financial security. In exchange, we pick up a desire for Christ, a hunger to serve others, and an emphasis on sharing the love and grace with others. The sacrifice that was made to redeem us was something we could never do on our own nor can we repay. But we can show God’s love to the people of this world. When I saw the picture below on Pinterest the other day, I couldn’t help but think, that is exactly how I want to describe the Race and this crazy journey I’m about to embark on.
May I always remember, that it’s not about me. It is about the kingdom.
