Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Doing What's Worth Dying For

I realize that I don't often write about the things I'm learning in my classes. Its not that I'm not learning, but its more that I'm learning so much and it is such difficult work of processing what I'm learning that it is tough to put all my thoughts into a brief post. I'll try to be more frequent in filling you in as to the great education I'm receiving at MHGS.

One idea that my professor, Dan Allender, speaks of often is the idea of only doing that which is worth dying for. Dan even says that if his class is not worth dying for, then it is a waste of our time. He speaks of how you could get in a car accident on the way to class and life would be over, so if you are going to take that risk for anything in life, the reward of the activity or relationship had better be worth losing your life over.

The flip side of this is that if you are going to choose to do something, you had better make it worth dying for. Although morbid, the truth is that any of us could suddenly choke and die during a meal, so you have to ask yourself if that meal is worth dying for. Have you surrounded yourself with the people you love most? Has your conversation been filled with life-changing content? Was the meal, or any activity for that matter, really worth the risk?

I realize that this thought is a bit extreme, because you can't always do "only" things worth dying for, but it has at least become a guideline to help hold me accountable in my actions. This thought can help keep me from straying into activities of dissociation and help me focus on life in the real world that can be a blessing to me, others, and the Kingdom.

1 comment:

  1. I hope I died long ago.

    To what level must we make this applicable. Does that mean that I must be a zealot and only go after the lost with a fervor that obstructs my eyes to the brothers and sisters that need my help? Or should I be so extreme that I must always have amazing conversations that change lives? That is crap.

    Jesus lived to die for us. He represented the ultimate model. And I do not think that it was living to die for something at every moment. Instead it was a steadfast progress in the direction of sacrifice. True living to die must be steps of everyday living that afford a sacrificial lifestyle of service.

    Start simple. Live to Serve. Love those you serve. And Live to Die.

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