Do You Want To Live This Way?

Do you know who you are? Do you understand what has happened to you? Do you want to live this way? These were the opening questions, on a recent episode in the television series Grey's Anatomy. There was a patient on the show who had suffered an injury that had left him paralyzed from the neck down. He would have to be kept alive by artificial means for the rest of his life. His wife wanted him to make the choice to live or to die himself. So the doctor woke him up and asked him these questions. The episode then proceeded to show the audience what would happen with each choice. As I watched this program, God spoke to me in some interesting ways about my own life concerning the choices that are mine to make. I started asking myself these same three questions.

Do you know who you are?

 Listening to my life has been the work that I am called to do. And in turn, I have begun to walk with many others who have chosen the path of listening to their own lives. Life is an adventure that is full of ups and downs. We can choose to live our lives fully awake or in a dull state of existence. I choose to be fully alive! To choose to live life to the fullest you must know who you are. Otherwise you can spend a lot of time and energy living a life that belongs to someone else. So when I am looking at my own life I must ask myself, "Am I living from my true self or settling for second best?" I think that when we settle for less than the best for ourselves it is out of fear.

Fear is a powerful force in our lives that can cause us to hold back from authentic living. Fear motives us to stay on the top of a cliff where we are safe from harm. Courage energizes us to jump off of the cliff and into a pool of clear blue water that awaits below bringing us pure exhilaration (I know this from experience).  The moment your foot leaves the edge of the cliff you know that you are alive and you hope that when you land in the water that you will live to tell about it. So how do we gain the courage to jump? I have found that having companions to encourage me helps me to face my fears. This is why I choose to listen to my own life and the lives of others. I want to help others jump.

Do you understand what has happened to you?

It takes courage to face your fears. We all have them. To begin to understand why we are afraid means having to take the time to understand what has happened to us. Shining the light on my life has helped me to understand what I am afraid of and why I am afraid. Each time that I walk into the darkness of my soul God is faithful to shine the light. My fears begin to lose their power over me and I am set free. Often times when I am meeting with people I will ask them what they are afraid of at that moment. The most common response that I receive is, "I am not afraid." Why is it so hard for us to admit that we are afraid? Jesus was well aware of how fear comes over people. He was always asking people why they were afraid or telling them not to be afraid (he could see that they were afraid). He knew that fear was a part of the human condition. He was a good companion because he got right to the heart of the matter. It is not in our nature to admit to weakness, and fear would certainly be placed in that category. So we choose to live in denial of our fear. We don't want to look like those fearful people that we read about in the Bible. We want to see ourselves as the courageous ones that we read about instead. Jesus acknowledged fear and then called people out of it. Fear is just like any other condition, we have to admit we have it if we want to be free from it.

Do you want to live this way?

Just like the man in Grey's Anatomy whose body was left motionless and numb, our spirits can become paralyzed as well. Many things can cause our paralysis. The struggles and fears in our lives can have paralyzing effects on us. Fear can keep us from moving forward. Fear can cause us to stop dead in our tracks. Fear can keep us in a dead end job. Fear can hinder relationships. Fear shuts us down and deadens our souls! When we overcome our fear we are free to move again. 

The first step to recovery in any addiction program is to admit that you have a problem. I have a problem with fear. I know that it is always lurking in the dark corners of my soul waiting for a chance to grab my attention and take me down. Jesus called people out of fear and in to faith. He knew that the key to courageous living was a life of faith believing and trusting in the love of God. 

John was one of Jesus' closest companions and referred to himself as the one whom Jesus loved. Later in his writing he penned these words:

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

                            1 John 4:18

May we all be made perfect in love!