Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Life And Gratitude

Life.

I see it everyday in the mechanical sense. 

People living life. 

The good, the bad, and ...neither...people just living.

Today someone almost took me out as I turned into an intersection. The person didn't even slow down. He sped along with his arm casually out the window. He saw me. He didn't brake before, during, or even after the near miss. I can only assume he didn't care. Perhaps he figured there was lots of time, who knows? All I know is that within that second or two of avoiding a collision, I became even more grateful for God's protection and for my life.

Life.


1. life
a. the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate
b. every living soul

2. life
a. of the absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through him both to the hypostatic "logos" and to Christ in whom the "logos" put on human nature
b. life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever.

In the Greek language, three different words—bios,psuche, and zoe—are translated as “life” in English, and each has a different meaning. Here are some examples of where each is used:

1. Bios, in Luke 8:14: “…anxieties and riches and pleasure of this life.” This Greek word refers to the life of the physical body and is where we get the word biology.

2. Psuche, in Matt. 16:25: “For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it.” The Greek word here refers to the psychological life of the human soul, that is, the mind, emotion, and will. It is where we get the word psychology.

3. Zoe, in John 1:4: “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” Here the Greek word refers to the uncreated, eternal life of God, the divine life uniquely possessed by God.


Life is a beautiful thing. We desire it, we search it out, but oftentimes, we avoid it. 

Life can be inconvenient, painful, frightening, and so sometimes we just exist.



In that moment of near-miss, I experienced gratitude for life. All of the things about my life in that moment that irked me became forgotten. I was just grateful.

Too often I complain about my life...I seem to hold myself to an ideal that is out of reach - whether this is good or bad...I want more life. My practical side often holds me back from doing more, and perhaps that is a good thing, but like an insatiable appetite, I want to live life more fully.

When I am reminded that God has a plan for all of us, I tend to wonder what that entails. Am I missing out on something because of my practical side? Am I avoiding life because it is too intimidating to take that step outside my comfort zone? Or is this it...my lot in life? Why am I still desiring more?!

As I grapple with my idea of what life should look like, I trust that God will continue to steer me to where that ideal life will manifest itself - moment by moment.

In the meantime, I am still mildly surprised at my response of gratitude in that near-miss moment. And despite my grumblings, I firmly hold to the belief that life is good, God is good, and I look forward to life after death with my Saviour and King...and my friend, Jesus.

For when we choose to believe Jesus is who He says He is and become Christians, our perspective on life and death changes...or it should change. 

We have new life and new hope during our life as Christians, and we have hope because we believe there is life after death. 

Life with God eternal. 

Thank you Jesus!



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