Don’t Wait to Start Living!
Life does not begin at 40, nor at any other suggested stage of a person’s development. It cannot be postponed by any personal decision!
Fortunately, throughout the ages, the world has seen many young people who were more alive than others who, albeit much older chronologically, had allowed life to pass them by; they were alive only in the sense that their name had not yet appeared in any obituary.
Yet, there’s much more to life than the mere accumulation of days and years in the existence of any human. At any era of the history of humanity, one can find persons who die relatively young, even if their burial may only occur many years later.
Life truly begins not at 20, 30, or 40, but once a person is gripped by an idea or ideal which that individual wishes to unfold and bring to full realization. It may take years to happen but the steps toward its fulfillment already represent living at one’s best!
Throughout Scripture many contrasts are shown between life and death, making the idea of choosing life both paramount and fully rewarding! This is what God desires for all His children; such is the preferable path for those eager to get somewhere on earth, with the blessing of God, while en route to the eternal abode. Deuteronomy 30:15 presents two choices ever present which anyone can select: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.”
Be ever mindful that in the ways of death one travels alone, while in the paths of life one is always accompanied by Him Who Himself is life! There are no substitutes for authentic living! And such is, precisely, what Christ came to offer freely to all who repentantly and in faith come to Him: “I have come that they may have life,” said the Lord, “and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
The life which ushers you into eternity begins right now - not at the moment of physical death, but at the instant of spiritual rebirth - as you say “Yes” to Christ’s gracious invitation, “Come unto Me and live!” St. John declares in his first epistle, “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life” (5:12).
To all who appropriate this life, direction is given on how to enjoy it to the fullest, in perpetuity, never in disappointment but in total radiance and with the assurance of additional happy surprises from above, and abundant satisfaction on earth and in heaven! No one can ever be fulfilled with what only money can acquire;it’s only from free, divine sources that one’s life may find its nurture, direction, and significance!
God is interested in your happiness now, as much as He is in your bliss beyond this earthly domain. Thus, choose life which He has apportioned for you; follow His blueprint to live it meaningfully in a world lacking in meaning; and anticipate the glory which awaits you, to be celebrated throughout all eternity! Glorify God while you live, and enjoy Him forever!
