Reflections: What is Life? Choosing to Live in the Light
When this life has passed, our flesh will be gone. That part of us that knows God, that can comprehend God despite our flesh, will be all that is left. And that part will turn out to be the real us. “For who knows the thoughts of a man, but the spirit of the man that is in him?” (1 Cor. 2:11) What then does that make our life?
Every person who will go to Heaven (and every person who will not) is forced to have a life of flesh before facing their final destination, whether that destination be Heaven, Hell, or as some Christians think… nothing. That final destination is determined by or reflected by our choices on this earth. Every life has a unique position in this world, a unique perspective on what is going on, a unique rendering of life’s importance as either an end (ultimate destruction), or a means to an end (eternal life or damnation). What then does that make our life?
A testing ground
Life could be a testing ground, where God puts us all in unique situations, interacting with each other. To some degree, this is exactly what life is. God has a purpose for each. I believe that Rick Warren has it right. God wants us to demonstrate something for Him. Certainly our love. Our selfless love. But love isn’t all there is. The world we are in is also violent, and sometimes the righteous must fight. What then of that? In that case, what matters is our ultimate goal. What are we fighting for, and in what spirit do we smite the enemy? Out of hatred for them? Certainly not. Out of fear? No need. To defend the innocent, and protect the righteous from those who are neither, while remaining righteous ourselves, if not innocent (because of the fighting). So then, we see that finishing this life in righteousness, and not unholy arrogance, would be a good goal for our life. That would seem to be something we would take with us, a quality beyond this world that God would use (if the scriptures are any indication). Every person has a fight. Every person has his personal challenge. Every person must make his choice. But again, what does that render life?
A reflection, like a mirror?
It seems to me that either life is where our spirit works out its relationship with God (i.e., where we work out our relationship with God), or it is where our relationship with God plays itself out through our flesh.
Matthew 7:12-14 (New International Version)
12So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
13“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.Luke 13:23-25 (New International Version)
23 Someone asked him, “Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” He said to them,
24 “Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to.
25 Once the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside knocking and pleading, ‘Sir, open the door for us.’
”But he will answer, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’”Matthew 22:13-15 (New International Version)
11 “But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes.
12 ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man was speechless.
13 “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
14 “For many are invited, but few are chosen.” “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
There is something other-worldly that Jesus talked about often. It is not always clear what it is. But Paul knew, and he wrote about it, telling us even what our “wedding clothes” are to be:
Ephesians 6:11-20 (New International Version)
11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.19Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
And so we see that our life is a manifestation of the spiritual warfare against the evil one. The real war being made is against God, and whatever the enemy can do in this life that makes God appear defeated, evil, or irrelevant is an ultimately failing tactic to defeat God. And we must all choose our side… and I believe we all have. Our spirits choose life as an opportunity for God, or an opportunity against Him. Some of us grasp the otherworldliness through our flesh, and others have no idea, but our spirits know the whole time, and so there will be no excuse when we die, for we all make our choices for God or against Him. We feel we have no choice, but if we believe, then we only need make one. Make our choice for God here, and we will find that our choice was made for us by our spirit and God Himself; make our choice against Him, or make no choice at all, and likewise it will turn out.
A shadow?
And so our life appears to be a reflection of the otherworldly war between the enemy and our God. But is reflection truly the world we seek? I do not think so. After all, a reflection looks like the reflected, only backwards. Surely, this world does seem backwards at times, but in a reflection you see every detail of the original, and we cannot see every detail… in fact, in our flesh, we appear only capable of seeing the impact of the spiritual world on this one, and only when we play the spiritual war out… and it is only when moving through God’s light that catches our attention, much like a shadow.
The landscape upon which the shadow is cast
But even a shadow has the shape of that which casts it, and I do not think that we live the life of a shadow, for it certainly is real enough to us for now. No, a shadow must be cast upon something, and results from something real blocking a source of light. Our life I believe is most like a landscape upon which we live. And upon that landscape is the spiritual shadow that is cast, by this world blocking out God’s light to varying degree. Some people live completely with the shadow. It is all they know, and because the world is made of such order, they can make complete sense of the landscape. After all, it is the same landscape as that which has no shadow. To them, the landscape is all there is, and their spirit sees no need God, and so their flesh seeing no light for as far as the eye can see, and their mind being able to describe in intricate detail the landscape upon they find themselves, they conclude there is simply no light. A truly understandable conclusion, from a fleshly point of view, and completely consistent with their role in the spiritual war in which they fight, though unwittingly from their current fleshly perspective.
And there are those, such as myself, who look at the same landscape, see the same order, understand the same rules, but see the light and the shadows it causes, realizing the light that I cannot see every moment still glances through the clouds around me every now and then. Living in the light 24/7 is my desire, and yet I cannot always do it, because the landscape upon which God placed me is fascinating and awesome. But I do see the light when I am in it; and live for the light when I am not. Others keep focused on the light nearly all of the time, and they hardly notice the landscape upon which they live, and why should they? The light is all that will be left when the cloud is lifted and the landscape is gone. It makes them appear foolish for not understanding the landscape upon which they live, and I am guilty of criticizing them for it; but they have on the armor of God, and are surviving the enemy’s attacks, and will enter through the narrow door when all is done and over with.
Describing the light for those who will not see it does not work. How can one describe it? It is not possible. The landscape is what is what is, and it is all one can see when stuck in perpetual darkness, and it appears to them to suffice. Well, were this life all there is, they would be right. But that is merely a hypothetical to one who knows the light, and an unhealthy hypothetical at that! After all, how can one see the light and then say it is not there? It is impossible… well nearly; curse, and you may well believe you never saw it, and will proceed as such, even criticizing those who still live in it. And yet I am asked those in the dark to prove the light exists, but without reference to the light that I have seen. A tactic of the enemy, filtered through those who are convinced there is no light, convined that my experiences are a delusion.
This struggle to me is life. And I choose the light.