“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” – James 4:14 NASB
I don’t want to make this out to be more than it is. Sometimes I hesitate to make a claim that I am experiencing a “spiritual refreshing” or anything of the sort, but I believe something is happening. The reason I don’t like to do this is because often that spiritual high wears off and we revert to old, comfortable habits. I don’t want this “refreshing” to be temporal or conditional. This is good. This is desirous for me. I want God. My life doesn’t always look like I want Him, but that is my desire—He is my desire. I want His name made great through my life and the lives of others. I want Him because He’s first desirous of me.
Anyway, my current “tent-making” job requires a rather lengthy commute. It’s about an hour each way. I’ve done this for 5 years now and people often ask, “How do you do it?” The answer is easy: God’s grace via podcasts/sermons/audiobooks. With these things, I don’t notice the time spent in the car and it really makes the drive quite bearable and enjoyable.
This brings me to my real point. This week, with limited things to listen to, I opted to buy an audio book and ended up getting Francis Chan’s Crazy Love. I’ve basically listened to two chapters and I can already sense a reinvigoration of my perspective of God and myself (a lowered view of self, that is). To be honest, I can’t say that he has made claims that were novel to me. The content isn’t new, but the delivery and perspective is still very helpful. He has a way of saying things and a way of causing one to focus on the things that really matter. I’ve always admired Chan’s high view of God and theology because he has a passion that matches it.
Well, I’m posting this because I don’t want to forget it. This post serves as a sort of memorial. Today, it’s not enough for me to tell people I’m in the church, that I serve in the church, that I study God’s word, or that my family is living a life in honor of God. No, I want my life to scream, “I’m passionately, radically, in love with Jesus.” I want this in my daily interactions–the grocery store, the office cooler, my cubicle, social media, etc.–I want my life to say that by exemplifying something different without being kooky or strange. I don’t want to be the guy that stands on the corner without shoes and a Moses-like beard with a sign who says, “The apocalypse is coming!” without ever pointing anyone to Jesus. I want to be the everyday guy, whose life points to a radical and deep love for God, who’ll still tell people the end is near and Jesus is their only hope (I know, I know, it seems like I’m splitting hairs on this one, but there’s a difference).
I realize this radical living means a radical shift in my day-to-day living. I can’t approach things the same way and I need God’s grace to implement this change. It must be different. I must be different. I must be both ferociously biblical and fiercely practical. Like the Apostle Paul if he were content to work a secular 9-5 today. I don’t know how this will play out, but I wanted to capture this somewhere and opted to use my blog.
-Van