Every man dies. Not every man really lives.

December Newsletter

Bill Mesaeh / www.billmesaeh.com

“Every man dies. Not every man really lives.” –William Wallace

I’ve always been a fan of highly charged movie scenes that have the hero/heroine passionately standing up for something he/she believes in. I don’t even have to agree with their stance to respect their passion. I can (and have) watch Mel Gibson stand up to the evil British or see Batman kick sand in the face of the bad guys over and over. (Incidentally, I think this is why God gave me boys. My poor wife can only take so much of William Wallace yelling, “What are you going to do with that freedom!?!”)

The Bible tells us that God views life the same way. What he requires most is our passion, not our perfection. Being as normal and as limited in my abilities as I am, I smile when I’m reminded of what matters most in God’s economy: He does not scan the earth looking for abilities, aptitude, or academic pedigrees. Affiliation with Jesus is what he’s after:

Acts 4:13 (NIV) — 13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

Jesus’ strongest pleas were those calling people to whole-heartedly follow him with every muscle in their body:

Matthew 16:24–25 (NIV) — 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

And, some of his strongest criticism went to believers who rode the fence: Christians in name only, who come to church and sleep in Jesus’ name—only to return to their indifferent and restrained routines:

Revelation 3:15 (NLT) — 15 “I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other!

It is a true statement that restraint has no place in religion. We can never state enough: Jesus didn’t die on the cross to become a footnote to our day or an afterthought in our agenda. He came to completely consume every inch of you—jealously devouring your whole person while enabling you to achieve your True Purpose: glorifying God.

It is my vision for our church that we be guided by nothing less than a whole life intentionally lived for Jesus. That God’s Word would become a “fire in [our] bones” (Jeremiah 20.9) and the filter for our decision be “that the world may know” (John 17.23).

Show me a church full of believers ready to charge the fields at Bannockburn or follow Peter out of the boat, and I’ll show you a time when “All the nations will stand amazed at what the Lord will do for you!” (Habakkuk 1.5)

Ready to Really Live,

-bill