Day 2
"A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of." John 10:10 (TMSG)
St. Irenaeus said "The glory of God is man fully alive."
I heard a preacher once say that the thing that makes you mad or makes you sad, or makes you pound your fist when you hear or think of it, could be a clue to the very thing you are called to solve, or help solve.
What is it that makes you and me fully alive? What stirs your spirit when you hear about it on the news, in conversation at work, or online? What makes you lie awake at night thinking of how things could be different in that situation if only you had the resources?
Jesus said that he came to give us a real life, a better life than we've ever dreamed of. But what does that mean to us? Have we taken the world's definition of success and fame and decided that these are what will make us happy or "better"? The world and its materialism only satisfy us for a little while. Then we find ourselves seeking out more and more until we realize that we have a hole in our souls that nothing in this world can fill.
Joy is that which we find when we move from having a "hole" in our soul to our soul becoming "whole." And it is so much more than simple happiness, for happiness relies only on what is "happening" at the moment. Christ invites us to follow him into eternal life now, as we join him in what he is doing in the earth. As we do this, trusting him to lead us, we find ourselves filled with joy, which cannot be taken away by circumstance.
Gil Bailie spoke of this when he wrote:
"Do not ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do that. Because what the world needs are men who have come alive."
Prayer: "Father, take my hand and lead me into life eternal, now and in my world today. Show me where you are working, what I can do to help you and let me come alive in serving you. In Christ, Amen."
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