Mission

Breakfast with a former student this morning, a conversation with a colleague, and emails in my inbox yesterday and today have me thinking about life - and death. The truth is, our lives go by pretty quickly.

Think about the best stories you have ever read or heard or seen depicted in film.  Why are those stories compelling?  What are the elements that move us, inspire us, leave us wishing the story had not ended?

My colleague Ben listened to a book a week or so ago, and was sharing with me that a primary element of the work was encouraging readers (listeners) to think of life - my life - as a story.  What story does my life tell?  Is it a tale that someone else would find interesting?  Does it have any of those elements that are found in our favorite stories?

Kierkegaard wrote,

"There is something missing in my life, and it has to do with my need to understand what I must do, not what I must know -- except, of course, that a certain amount of knowledge is presupposed in every action.  I need to understand my purpose in life, to see what God wants me to do, and this means... that I must find that Idea for which I can live and die. 

(An Entry from the Journal of the Young Kierkegaard, from Classics of Philosophy. Pojman, Louis P. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. p 924, emphasis original)

 That Idea for which I can live and die...  Isn't that the central element of a great story?  The hero has an idea, a passion, a mission, a Great Idea for which many other things are sacrificed. He or she lets go of things that already are, and things that could be, in order to accomplish the one Great Thing.  Consider Frodo in The Lord of the Rings (one of my all-time favorite stories.) For the mission -- for the cause -- Frodo will give up all else that could be attractive in life.  He is even willing to give up life itself in an attempt to save the people and the world he loves.  

Consider the real-life story of a friend, Dave, who has committed himself to the street boys of Kenya.  I marvel at his faith and love and sacrifice when I receive his emailed news updates.  He is living a great story.  Like the heroes in all the great stories, Dave has let go of all the things that could have been, and embraced an adventurous, difficult mission.

In just a short time, I will be dead.  It doesn't matter if I live to be 110 -- in the long tale of history, that is just the blink of an eye from now.  In just a short time, you will be dead.  It is absolutely certain.  Jump far enough forward in history, and it is certain we will both be dead.  What story will be told of our lives?  What mission are we living for?  What might we do that will have value past our short existence?  What Idea are we holding on to for which we can live and die? 

Are you -- am I -- living out a great story?  It takes quite a while to begin to unpack that thought. There are many layers: what is greatness?  What lasts?  What do I most value? And, like Kierkegaard, what must I do?  What is my unique place in Christ's kingdom, and how (if at all) am I living that out? What am I settling for, when I should be reaching farther and higher? What "junk" has captured my attention and what treasures have I thus missed?

Life can be lived in pursuit of the trivial.  But surely for it to be a good life - an abundant life - what is required is a grand adventure, the overcoming of fear with courage, the exchange of the banal for love and purpose and mission. 

What's YOUR story?  Is it full of life?  Is it deeply wonderful?  Are the hard parts an ultimately joyful part of the journey? Are we remembering to be thankful for it? Is it big enough?

What are we living and dying for?