Dying to Live

I'm dying to live. I think deep down we all are. We are programmed that way. We all want something more. We all want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. There is a reason that people work themselves to death for their entire lives trying to achieve some status, trying to accomplish some goal, and then when they get there they look back on what they have done and say, "This is it?" "This is what I've worked for all my life?" "Was it worth it?"


I can't think of a greater example than this than Tom Brady, quarterback of the New England Patriots, winner of 3 Super Bowls, 2 of which he was the MVP. This is not a Brady Bashing session. I'm not a player hater that crushes a lot. The dude's stat sheet speaks for itself and its hard to go against. He is one of the greatest QB's in the game today. But I saw an interview with him once where he said something that I will never forget for the rest of my life. In 2005, after Brady had won his 3rd Super Bowl in the last four years, he said, "Me I think, God, there's gotta be more than this?""Why do I have three super bowl rings, and still think theres something greater out there for me?"

Are you for real? Man this type of stuff just can't be written. This is America, a country that glorifies it's sports stars, particularly football, and especially the quaterbacks. This guy makes millions of dollars a year to play a sport. He is married to a supermodel. This is supposed to be the dream, the most fulfilling life you could ever ask for. He is supposed to be at the ultimate, the highest high, and he is looking back saying, "there's gotta be more than this?"


I'm dying to live. I think Tom is too. I want to be part of something more than Dave. I don't want to spend my life chasing after the American dream. I don't want to be comfortable. I don't want to live in a big house and drive a nice car. I don't care. I want to live, to really live. "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain," Phillipians 1:21. Paul said that, and I believe he was being divinely inspired when he said it. I'm dying to live. I think deep down we all are, because I think that God designed us that way. I think that when God made human beings, he intentionally left a little hole in us somewhere. Not a physical hole where some anatomical structure is lacking or absent, but a metaphorical hole in our soul, in our being, in what makes us who we are. A hole that can only be filled by really living for Christ. Letting him rule our mind, body, heart, our actions, our words, how we spend our time, how we spend our money, how we treat each other. Nothing else can fill that hole.  Nothing else can quench that thirst. I love gatorade, they have revolutionized sports nutrition. But they are liars. They don't quench my thirst. I could pound one and then 30 minutes later be lookin for some water. Only one thing really quenches my thirst, and that is Jesus.

But talking about living for Christ, and going out and doing it are two different things. When you wake up in the morning, whether you know it or not, its on, and the choices you make over the course of that day have consequences. My grandfather David John once told me, "If it were easy, everyone would do it." At that moment we were talking about getting a college degree because sometimes, all the time, when it comes to doing school work I need a little discipline. But I think that it holds true to living for Christ too. Jesus said that the gateway to life is narrow, and the road is very difficult, and only a few will ever find it (Matthew 7:14). I want to go down that road. I want to find that life.

I'm dying to live. 


btw: i put the link for the Tom Brady interview down below in case anyone wanted to see it.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HeLYQaZQW0