Dying Decently

Ever since I first read "the glory of God is man fully alive," I've considered it my favorite quote (it's from St. Iraneaus, btw). It resonates deep within me as the perfect summation of God's heart for His redeemed. Christ said that He came to give us life and if that's true, then it follows that He is glorified when we live.

The significance of the quote, besides that it was written 500+ years ago, is that it is so NEEDED today. Instead of people living fully alive - and I'll define that for me in a later post - I see people barely living at all. This non-living has been called many things: mediocre, satisfied, boring and waiting. I often choose waiting when describing this tragedy because what I see is people who know they're saved and going to heaven and they think that's all there is. So they merely seek to get through life until death when "they get to go home."

But these words like waiting have never quite explained my deepest thoughts on the subject. The people I seek to describe are dear, dear people. They are people I know personally as well as millions, perhaps billions that I don't. They are not bad. They are not lazy. They are striving and moving towards a worthwhile goal in their lives on earth and in the life to come.

But "waiting" fails to describe the frustration and struggle apparent in Christians. We, as a people, SAY we are joy-full and peace-full, but we're not. We live nice, friendly, mostly sinless lives, but we're not victorious, and it's because we sense there's something more that we're missing. So, we're restless and discontented.

Then I read this quote from Thomas Carlyle last night:
"The courage we desire and prize is not the courage to die decently, but to live manfully."

Dying decently, while a worthy goal, is simply not compelling enough, meaningful enough or challenging enough. It is the perfect lie because it makes us feel good and it keeps us moving. But it's ultimately hollow and meaningless - to us and the world around us. But because it LOOKS right, we're left assuming that we'll find contentment if we work at dying decently even HARDER.

We need to abandon this notion of dying decently - and living decently - and exchange it for the idea of LIVING. Living from a holy, righteous, empowered heart centered on God and His will. A will that requires us completely. And requiring us completely is God's heart. God sent His Son for you because He needs you for something - a something that He created you for. Living fully alive happens when you move in that intended creation. It happens when you move in the things of life that require YOU. And rest assured that the you that this living requires is exactly what your heart cries out to be.

It exemplifies your heart's desire to live manfully or womanfully because that is the heart's cry of your God.