A Great Life

What constitutes a great life? This question has been asked by humankind since the very beginning. Ancient Greek philosophers asked the question and sought to work out the answer. These wise men of old decided a great life is built upon such things as pleasure and freedom from pain, freedom from poverty, education and leading an “examined life,” freedom from fear, the contemplation of God, honorable behavior (virtue), doing things in the right proportion, fulfilling your political and social obligations, friendship and security. Over the years others have tried to enlighten us about what makes a life great. Politicians have offered their two cents worth; poets, artists and musicians have offered up their ideas, and of course prophets and priests have chimed in as well.

The question is an important one. Having been around a few deathbeds in my days as a pastor, I am convinced that whether we admit it or not, one of the greatest fears many of us have, is that despite all our effort and striving, we will discover at the very end that we have wasted our life. No one wants to squander their life; life is too precious. And that begs the question, “How then, shall we live?”

The easy answer for us as Christians, of course, would be to simply say, “Look in the Bible, for there you will see how to live.” But honestly, it’s not that simple because of the unfortunate tendency we have of finding exactly what we’re looking for in the Bible. We read things into it that were never intended. Apartheid in South Africa was supported by the Dutch Boers because their theologians found exactly what they were looking for in the Bible. The same goes for slavery in America – we excused it by calling it “Ham’s curse” and thus made it "biblical." For centuries Jewish people were persecuted, oppressed and even murdered, on the pretext of truth sought and found in the Bible – New Testament texts that were interpreted to blame the Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus. Everyone finds in the Bible exactly what he/she seeks.

So what can we do? What makes up a great life? I am still working on a more complete answer, but my short answer to the question would be that a great life consists of the accumulation of grace-filled days, one day at a time. It has to do with living our lives in what author Spencer Johnson in his delightful parable calls the “precious present.” We can’t do much about our yesterdays, and worry over tomorrow is a waste of time. Today is what matters. The recovering alcoholic knows this – he or she makes a daily commitment to be sober for the day ahead – one day at a time. The same is true for all of us. The new person we want to be – the life we want to live, the things we want to start doing and the things we want to stop doing can only be accomplished today, and they only be accomplished by God’s grace.

I believe that’s what Joshua meant when he said, “Choose THIS DAY whom you will serve…” in Joshua 24:15. Living a great life is a daily choice, and since we are not God it definitely involves serving someone or something. Joshua says it is literally the choice between life and death.

As we move into the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, keep this in mind. Each morning as your feet hit the floor commit your life anew to Christ and ask Him to help you be grace-filled that day and to be a grace-bearer to others. Then, no matter what happens, or where you find yourself, you will be living a great life.