A Wasted Life

It was a fad a while back—WWJD, What Would Jesus Do? It was on t-shirts, on bracelets, etc. It’s a phrase that does call attention to a question, but there’s a bigger question that should be in our minds, one more encompassing than the situational WWJD. The bigger question is— “If Jesus were living my life, what would He be doing and how would He be doing it?” That’s a question posed by Mark Driscoll in his new book, Spirit-Filled Jesus.

 

It’s a question that asks not just “what” but “how.” And it’s a bigger question in that it steps out of one or two or three situations, or more, into your whole time of life-breathing on this planet.

 

That’s what is “eternal life”—the gift we are given when we place our faith in Christ Jesus. Mark Driscoll wrote that it’s “a quality of life that starts at the moment of your salvation, infects and effects all of your life, and culminates at your death. … Christianity is about living a new life from the moment you meet Jesus and receive His Spirit that continues forever and ever. If eternal life is the Spirit-filled life of Jesus empowering your entire life, then any day lived any other way is a wasted life.”

Mark didn’t put an exclamation mark at the end of that last sentence, but that’s a very impactful statement. Who wants “a wasted life”? Especially when you consider what Mark wrote later at the end of Chapter 1 of his book— “the Spirit-filled life with Jesus is so wonderful that even one day of it makes life worth living.” That’s what I want, don’t you?

A life worth living is a life that has value beyond its time spent in this land of the living. A life worth living has influence and leaves a legacy behind that is unlike the normal breath of air—here and gone. Instead it leaves a lingering aroma, just like today when I walked down a hallway and knew immediately another person had been there before me—their “fragrance” remained behind them.


I am enjoying reading an Advance Reader Copy of Mark Driscoll’s new book, Spirit-Filled Jesus, in which Mark shares insights from Luke that will help us live life in the here and now empowered by the Holy Spirit just as Luke repeatedly writes of in his Gospel.

The book releases October 2, 2018, but you can place a preorder now. Please go to the book’s website to find out more information: http://spiritfilledjesus.com/.

[Just a note: I updated my blog title just to reflect more accurately why I blog, and it just so happens that the name “Deborah” has a great meaning in Hebrew. I grew up thinking it meant “bee.” Well, I learned that’s not really the case. It does come from the same root word. But for the ancient prophetess Deborah, it was a perfect name (I’m not a prophetess, just carry her name). The root word in Hebrew is a word that means to speak or pronounce—make sounds, like a bee does. But added onto the name is the “ah,” which is a reference to Jehovah. So, isn’t it cool that the prophetess’ name, Deborah, meant “one who speaks for God” or “God Speaks”? (Jack Cairns, Hebraic Roots)]