The Choice to Live

 John 10:11-18 

(“For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.” John 10:17)

Beloved, we are all born with at least one purpose. We are given life in order to be instruments in God’s plan for His creation. While life does consist of occasional joys and pleasures, these are not the reasons why we exist. We are His servants; we live and breathe to do His bidding in the midst of our daily living---sometimes in ways noticeable and memorable, sometimes not---but always for His sake. What then, is your purpose; what is your reason for being? 

This is a message about commitment and purpose, about passion for your convictions, about your belief in something so strongly that if you don’t do it, it won’t get done. This is a message about making your life count for something ---something YOU believe in, and how giving your all to your passion, even to the point of death is to source of great joy and exhilaration; how it is uplifting, transforming and takes you to another dimension toward being alive! 

Luke writes in the 33rd verse of the 17th chapter, “ Those who try to make their life secure will lose it, but those who lose their life will keep it.” MLK said once “If you haven’t found something you’re willing to die for, you’re not fit to live.” In our lesson this morning, Jesus says, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.” Each of these statements underscore that our relationship with God, and our purpose in God is derived from our willingness to live with abandon, to let out all the stops for the mission to which we believe God has called us. Our willingness, the courage we have to lay down our all for Him is what draws us closer to him and empowers us to live for his will instead of ours. 

This is a critical point to digest, because far too many human beings live wasted lives trying to avoid controversy, to be loved by everybody (and actually being loved by no one), and to calculate their every move in order to be self-promoting. This is the way of slow death. We are not called to be martyrs; we all called to live for what we care about even to the point of death. Jesus’ passion was for you and me. 

His mission was the unconditional love of sinful human beings---to love them to forgiveness and righteousness. He lived to show us the way to eternal life---how to live fully in the life we have, and to, with courage, lay down our lives as evidence of our ultimate commitment to our reason for being. It is only then that we can find that thing that anchors our purpose, and only then do we truly begin living; only then do we begin to express the full measure of our personalities and to give life our all! 

We are surrounded by people who have learned to play the game of life---to adhere to the rules of groupthink. Playing it safe has become the modus operandi, even in the Lord’s house. Last week, David Brooks wrote in the NYT about the creativity deficit that exists in the culture. Creativity requires taking risks. Cornel West, appearing with Terence Blanchard on a recent recording, described the Jazz musician as one who is willing to take risks, to find his/her own voice, the voice of improvisation, on the road less traveled, or maybe never traveled. 

But who among us lives by improvisation? We have the ill-informed notion that victory belongs to those who color within the lines. E. B Williams, economics professor at Morehouse in my day, reminded us of the disadvantage of “getting all you can, putting it in the can and sitting on the can for as long as you can.” You can wind up keeping everything in the can, but you never acquire anything greater, and even what you have will risk losing value. In the same way that you may keep what you have balled up in your fist; while what you have there may never get out, nothing new gets in. 

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. We experience life, not by unduly playing it safe, but by choosing to expose ourselves to uncharted territory, to the not yet known, and by being self-giving, living for the sake of others in a world that promotes looking out for self.  Risk takers for love gain life. Those who live in fear of risks, too often inherit isolation. As the old saying goes, it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. The Resurrection, the resolve of Jesus to live out his conviction, his purpose, even to the point of death, will give US courage to love and to live without fear. It is the one event in human history that opened the gates of life to us, and left them wide open.