Does the Bible have anything to say about living an exciting life?
It is my opinion and my experience that the answer to that question is yes.
In the following paragraphs, I will share with you some things that I have learned that have led me to live that type of life.
There is a challenge in life that far surpasses any other and that can fill your life with emotion and passion.
If you want to know it, I invite you to read with me this Bible text:
Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews.
To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.
To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.
I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.
I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?
Run in such a way as to get the prize.
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.
They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.
Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.
No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
| 1 Corintios 9:19-27
What is the apostle Paul saying here?
Does the apostle “hint” that being a Christian requires effort, dedication, commitment, and discipline?
Is he comparing that experience to that of an Olympian who trains all his life to win first place?
That’s right.
To live an exciting life according to the Bible is to live a Christian life the way God really longs for it to be lived.
But let me ask you something: How much does that resemble the reality of your Christian life and mine?
Is your Christian life really exciting?
Let’s be honest.
It is troubling to see the way many of us are living such a comfortable, relaxed, and carefree Christianity.
We have missed the opportunity to live the exciting adventure of allowing the work of transformation that God’s spirit wants to do in our lives.
We have not subjected our mind to holiness, but we live in contemplation of that which is evil.
Most of us perhaps do not devote quality time to studying God’s word and prayer.
Just a few crumbs of time in the midst of the pursuit of our true priorities.
We may live by our selfish priorities and have not made Jesus our priority.
We may believe that being a Christian is simply about “believing” in Jesus, but we do not want to make a serious commitment to him, our salvation, and much less to that of other people.
Of course, we don’t live exciting lives.
That is not the life God wants us to live.
Jesus’ response to our behavior is:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven”.
And Paul’s recommendation is to “run so that you get the prize.”
In its context, this is equal to “train hard and run to have the first place in the race of the Christian life”.
Do not settle for the mediocrity of the one who wants to come second.
Leave it all on the track, give everything you have, try your best.
And then Paul says, “I strike my body and I master it.”
To live an exciting life according to the Bible, we need to engage more with God and his work.
I would like to reflect on three messages in this text that you and I need to learn.
Make Christ the center of our life
The first of these is that we must take the Christian life into ourselves.
Being a Christian cannot continue to be something complementary to our daily lives and our occupations.
One thing we do on the weekends, just when we go to church.
Christ must be the center of our life, our greatest longing, our most urgent priority must be to love Him and be of complete use to him.
Be a disciplined Christian
The second is that even if we don’t like to accept it, everything we are, continually leans toward evil.
This is why we cannot continue to hinder and resist the work that the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives.
We must turn away from excessive secularism, regain our freedom, and purify our mind and heart to allow the work of liberation that must be done to the spirit of God.
If necessary we must “subdue our flesh and strike it” (this is figuratively speaking), that is, whatever it is to go against our sinful nature.
To rebel ourselves against it to the point that by the power of the Holy Spirit we can put our whole being in discipline and surrender to the service of the Lord.
Train others
And the third thing to learn is: running and training hard won’t win us any rewards unless we ourselves train others to be Champions of Christ over the sin and evil that destroys his life.
Being a Christian is the biggest and most exciting challenge you can have in life.
You choose.
Are you going to take it seriously and enjoy it to the fullest?
Or are you going to continue to live in mediocrity?
Would you like to live an exciting life? What is the circumstance you are going through? Let us know in the comments.
