Living Content. That is the tagline of the site, but what does it mean? More importantly, what does it mean to you? What does it mean to me? It is something that has been gnawing at the back of my mind for over a year. I mean, it is the two words that sit in the header space of our Facebook page. It forms the hashtag we use for social media. It must mean something to this page and it must mean something to me as a person. If it is a banner I am going to raise over my body, it must be something that I embrace.
This is the first of three posts dedicated to the topic of living content. I had originally thought I could hammer out in one post. Then I recognized it would be better suited in two entries. While typing this I had the realization that I ultimately needed three. What can I say? It must be the preacher in me. For this first post, I want to focus on the first word. I want to dive deeper into the word living.
Living, A Basic Definition
Living could simply be an adjective to describe something that is alive. As long as the heart beats inside of my chest, I am a living creature. When that which resides in me quits pumping, I am no longer alive. I remember this basic science from elementary school.
What Does Living Content Mean To Me?
It causes me to pause and give careful consideration to at some point this life as I know it will cease to exist. My heart will stop and I will turn back to dust. James 4:14 tells us that our life is a vapor that is only around for a very, very short time and then disappears. Embracing the call to be living content requires that I admit my frailty. At some point, this life will be over. While I do not hope it will be soon, it could be tonight and I must recognize this. I must make every hour, every moment, every second of this short life count.
[Tweet “I was once dead but now I’m alive in Christ.”]
Living content adheres to the belief that I was once spiritually dead. The apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:1-5 that we were dead in our sins, but because of Christ I am alive. While you could have once counted me among the dead, you must now count me as among the living. I now get to live my life free from the bondage of my sin and in sync with the Holy Spirit. However, I must not forget the spiritually dead around me.
Every day I will come in contact with people who do not know what it is like to be living. They may exhibit the physical qualities of being alive, but underneath they are withering away like the roses you gave your mom last Mother’s Day. To declare myself as living content, I must not only recognize the difference between the living and the dead, but carry the life with me wherever. I demonstrate true living when I share the life with others in my life.
In another passage of Scripture tells readers to present themselves as living sacrifices to God. Typically, sacrifices are made of either dead or inanimate objects, but Paul instructs that these sacrifices are living. I have heard it said (a quick Google search tells me it was Rick Warren in 2014, but let me know if I am wrong) that the thing about a living sacrifice is that it wants to crawl off the altar. I must give recognition that due to being able to make my own decisions, I will want to crawl off the altar from time to time.
The human nature that still resides inside of me will not want to sacrifice for Christ. It will do anything and say anything to drive a wedge between me and my desire to live for Christ. I must recognize that God wants me just as I am and if he did not want a living sacrifice, he would have called me straight to Heaven at the moment of my salvation.
In Other Words
I have to recognize not only my past and how I am now living, but also that I must make a daily choice to embrace this calling. This is not something that will somehow find itself expressing out of my words and actions without a consistent, daily appreciation for what it means to be living content.
I look forward to sharing the rest of my thoughts over the next few writings. I would like to know what you think of the word living. Do you think that we can be living and not know it? How do you reinforce the fact that you are alive in Christ? Have you been able to consistently see yourself as a sacrifice? Hit up the comments below and let me know. Dialogue is crucial to the Christian existence.
