Prepare my heart, mind and soul for the wonders that await me today, Beloved Creator. Mindfully I will embrace, whether blessed or stressed, every chance to welcome the counsel of your Spirit.
Gird me for the joys and jostles, for the merriment and mishaps which will occasion me today, and may every moment serve only to draw me nearer and dearer to you!
Monday
"Living the dream."
That's what the TSA agent said as the next passenger stepped forward and, without thinking, asked the agent reflectively, "How you doing?" "Living the dream," the uniformed man said loud enough for all of us in line to hear. His words dripped with weariness and sarcasm. The rest of us half-laughed nervously in agreement.
All of us, hourly worker and traveler alike, were at that moment purgatorians. He was stuck on a stool behind a kiosk. And we travelers would soon enough be stuck in stingy seats between other stingy seats in a metal tube for the next several hours. Each of us were sojourning, we hoped, toward something better than where we were at the moment.
Living the dream... the good life. Don't worry, be happy. Don't sweat the small stuff. Life is good. Some of us have the luxury to say such things about our lives. And some of have the means to post just how good our life is on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.
But much of what we see posted online for all to see is a front. A personal version of fake news. Putting on our best face. Weaving a false narrative.
And it's understandable. There are so many versions of "living the good life" out there. So many images coming at us. So much deceptive marketing. So many voices that have a vested interest is us "buying what they are selling."
It's no coincidence that Jesus never invited us to live the good life. Nor did he infer that by following him we would be "living the dream." He did say that he "came that we may have life, and have it more abundantly."
As it turns out, there is a world of difference between "living the dream" and a life of abundance.
Please join me the rest of the week as I explore Jesus' understanding of what makes life truly worth living, one he described by another name: the abundant life.
Click here for a guide to Lenten season at Covenant.
