Dave Freeman, the 47 year old author of '100 Things to do before you Die', died this week from hitting his head at his home in California. John Harlow & Roger Waite wrote an article in 'The Sunday Times' entitled 'Life as a List', discussing why the concept of 100 Things became so popular. Freeman opens his book saying:
'Life is a short journey. How can you make sure you fill it with the most fun and that you visit all the coolest places on Earth before you pack your bags for the very last time?'
That is very much an attitude treasured in modern culture. We want to live life to the full while we can.
Well the Bible talks about living life to the full too- but in a different way. The Bible tells us that life is not just the 80 or so years you have on earth. Every human being has an eternal soul, and the life you have after death is actually a lot more important than the life on earth, because it is eternal.
Jesus said,
'I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.' John 10:10-11
In dying on the cross, Jesus was laying down His life in order that human beings could enjoy life to the full. You see, all of us are born with an invisible ball and chain around our feet. We go through life pretty unaware of it, but when we die, it's because the ball and chain finally caught up with us.
The ball and chain is sin. We are weighed down by our guilt for turning our backs on God, and the only way to live life to the full is to have the ball and chain removed.
On the cross, Jesus took the punishment for our guilty rebellion. He has the key to unlock your chain... but you have to ask Him. You have to acknowledge that the ball and chain exist. You need to realise how much you need Jesus.
Once you come to Jesus and ask for forgiveness, you experience true freedom. The ball and chain are taken off and flung away, and you are free to live life to the full now, and in eternity. The Bible talks about heaven, not as a fluffy white-clouded place, but about a real home for God's people where we can be with God forever with no suffering or pain (see Revelation 21). It puts our earthly life into perspective.
You see, the paradox of Freeman's 100 Things philosophy is that you can't ever get real fulfilment from doing really amazing things here on earth. Simon Reeve is quoted in this article as saying:
'because we all have such limited free time we rely on planes to whisk us to a place where we've been told we can have an extraordinary experience. Usually that just involves standing alongside a thousand other tourists.'
My family recently went to Lake Garda in Italy and this is certainly what they said! (Although of course it is very beautiful there.)
Even Freeman himself admitted that spending all your time hunting for Eden can ruin paradise for you.
The message of the Bible is that you can't find fulfilment anywhere else except in God. He offers us everything we need- Jesus explained this once by using a metaphor of water:
'whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.' John 4:13
We were created to have a relationship with God. Only when that relationship is restored through our forgiveness in Jesus, can we truly be made whole. That is where true fulfilment lies.
No comments:
Post a Comment