One of the first things I saw this morning was an unattributed quote on a bot account I follow on Telegram: “Everything has been figured out, except how to live.” Usually, the Daily Quotes offer some positive perspective, but both sides of this one can be questioned.
Has everything been figured out? Let’s chalk it up to hyperbole and move on.
Has no one figured out how to live? That thought doesn’t pass the mustard.
So it was with a sense of Providence that I read a 40-year-old devotional thought for May 3rd, 1985, published in Power for Today. (Yes, I read the most recent edition as well.)
H. Glenn Boyd had written a devotional entitled, “A Handbook to Life and Eternity,” speaking, of course, of the Bible.
Near the beginning of the article he said, “It is true that we are at such an advantage when we have God’s word in our hearts. We know how to cope with our problems, how to overcome worry, how to deal with our enemies, how to face adversity and overcome temptations, how to deal with success and how to serve.”
Sounds like somebody has figured out how to live. Might it not be the Maker of life? Indeed, so!
In recent weeks I’ve read about two atheists who were converted because they started reading the Bible. Reading God’s Word the pieces start to fall into place. Explanations make sense. Messed-up mankind is revealed for what it is and for the disaster it causes, while God all the while is redeeming, redeeming, redeeming.
The Bible holds together as a book and holds life together in an integrated and happy whole. It tells us not only how to live but why as well. Both are essential elements to life as we know it.
The Lord Jesus Christ came and lived a perfect life, not only one that was sinless, but one that showed us how to live. His life and sacrifice were both redemptive and exemplary. His deity in no way diminished his model for human life.
To the infighting followers overreaching for power and authority, Jesus put his own life forward as worthy of imitation:
But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of all. **For** even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Mark 10.43-45.
So if you want to know how to live, live like Jesus.
That’s not so hard to figure out.
- Everything figured out? - 2025-03-03
- What God wants - 2025-02-17
- Prayer for help - 2025-02-16