Living or Existing

Here is the question we face on a daily basis:  do we exist, or are we living life to the fullest?  You know what I mean.

Are we just going through the motions of doing our jobs, or are we fully engaged?

When we are with our families for meals, are we listening to conversations, or just physically in the room?

Do we attend church because ‘that is what our family does on Sunday mornings’, or  because we want to serve one another as we learn more about worshipping God?

Now, if you don’t care about the above questions, just stop here because the rest of this post will be a waste of your time. However, if things like these questions bother you, read on. Read on!

The big picture here is that I want us to begin to uncover the root causes of our reasons for ‘just existing’ so that we can stop going after those temporary, bandaid-type, solutions.  Ultimately, the root cause will be SIN, and when you uncover that, it will not be pleasant.  You may have to uncover more than one layer of excuses before you hit the tap root.  It may be something quite subtle, but still very crippling.

I am not suggesting, here, that if we have these problems that we are not heaven bound.  OK?   I am, though, telling you that the Devil has made a mess of this world in both profound ways and extremely subtle mannerisms and you and I are in the thick of it.

If you and I don’t deal with the root of our problems, we will be, forever, dealing with ‘bandaid’ solutions, so let me give you some food for thought on how to expose the root by suggesting that you spend time to ask yourself such questions as to WHY you are not engaging in your surroundings.  The wonderful thing about all of this is that it is not rocket science.

But, as I mentioned earlier, be prepared to deal with some discomfort.  For instance:  you may dislike your job but endure it because you are angry that there are no jobs in your field of expertise which you just spent 4 years of your life studying.  Or, you may not be engage in conversations at the dinner table because you get easily hurt when others cut you off in mid sentence.  Or, you may only be tolerating going to church because you fear the ramifications that come from going against your family.

Lastly, remember you are wanting to deal with the tap root, and that will take work.  You will be exposing things that are uncomfortable and that will require strength to face.

As a child of God, He will lead and protect you.  He will reveal what you need to see and strengthen you with His spirit to forge ahead because He knows whom He has created:  someone who is meant to not exist, but to abundantly live.

Blessings on your Journey

–Michael