To Live Is . . .

There was a long list of all the things that had gone wrong. He could not figure out what he had done to be faced with such enormous problems.  Was it fate?  Was he responsible?  Was there a way to get out of the pit he found himself in?

 It is hard to focus on what is important when we are consumed with the pressures at hand.  I have learned  that there are many things that take our full attention, but there are few things worth it.  The stuff of life can consume us to the point it controls how we think and respond to the one life we have received.  When you get down to it, being overwhelmed is a choice that begins with what we let into our life.

There often is a difference between the life we live and the life we want to live.  We need to take stock, evaluating what is.  The Apostle Paul gave the early church a clear challenge of what is when we fully engage with Christ.
Consider.

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21, NLT).

 The few words formed by Paul summarize the purpose of a Christ follower, a challenge to live fully and continually engaged with Christ.  Pay attention to the word, is, a present-tense verb, denoting an ongoing action.   It may appear to an outside observer, Paul's statement is unrealistic; however, he had opened his life up to a greater reality. I am not saying life becomes a walk in the park when we live in Christ; Paul certainly faced unimaginable problems.  But.   In and through Christ, we move out of the realm of fear, worry, and stress to the realm of faith, trust, and peace.  It is a learning process, day by day, to intentionally and purposefully live beyond the power and pressures of problems.

So. Begin.   Seize the day . . . there is a greater Reality. . .  Christ.  Focus.  Seek. Relax.  Breathe.  To live is Christ.

Learning to Kickstart the day by knowing to live is Christ,
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)