The Last ArrowSýnishorn

ACT LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT

When Jesus’ disciples went to the tomb to look for his body, the angel who met them asked, “Why do you look for the living amongst the dead?” In general, we seem so confused about life and death and even more so about the ambivalent state of being that might best be described as existence.

Not long ago my wife Kim and I were in Beirut. We were preparing to go into Bekaá minutes from the border where ISIS was at war with the people of Lebanon. As we were about to jump in our cars we were asked to fill out a form. The forms’ heading read ‘Proof of Life.’ This was the first time in my life I was asked to prove I was alive. This caused me to reflect and ask myself, “What are the proofs of my life?” Is it the car I drive? My last name? My social security number? Could it be that those descriptors are not proof of life but simply proof of existence?

Most of us are not choosing between life and death; we are choosing between existence and death. We actually never choose to live. We are paralyzed by our fear of death and all its relatives such as failure, disappointment, and heartbreak and that fear leads us to trade life for existence.

Of this I am certain: whatever God has for you, whatever promises God longs to fulfill in your life, whatever riches may await you, you will only find them when you choose life over existence.

Regardless of your status or socio-economic background you must stop waiting for someone to make your life count. You must act. You need to act like your life depends on it. Whatever choices you make in life, no matter how much you accomplish, one thing is certain – all of our lives will end. The question still remains: will you choose to live or will you lie there until death takes you?

What are your proofs of life? What are those things in your life that make you come alive? In what ways have you settled for existing instead of living?