You don’t hear it much any more, but growing up I remember hearing the phrase, “Now that’s living!” It usually followed an experience of excitement or joy. It conjured up the idea that someone had “made it” and now they were all set – really living.
Yesterday we began to look at what it means to be in the world but not of the world. There is no doubt in scripture that God’s people are to be in the world but there is also an idea of being set apart. So how do we do that? The first thing you need to remember is that it is a journey toward a goal. You will have days where you do very well and then you will have days when – well, not so much. But that is life. The key is to stay focused.
This past summer we were at the beach in California as a family. It was awesome – the tallest surf they had had in years. But with the incredible waves came an extremely strong current. We got out and body surfed on the waves – riding a wave into shore and then fighting our way back out to deeper water to catch the next one. What happened with each wave is that we got carried further and further down the beach. But we were having fun and living life and just taking it as it came. After about 20 minutes of that, I realized we were 1/4 mile away from where we started. Because of our lack of attention to what was happening, we were carried away from where we should have been.
The same is true in life. If we are to be in the world without being of the world, we have to be focused on the goal of living for Jesus. We cannot take life as it comes and disconnect. We have to stay engaged in our relationship with Christ. But how? Here are a couple of things to work on:
1. Stay committed to your personal time with God – Prayer and Bible reading will keep you grounded
2. Stay connected with your faith community – We all need each other to stay focused
3. Find someone to hold you accountable – God designed us to need one another
Remember that Jesus commands us to be salt in a tasteless world. But if we become so diluted by the world, we lose our effectiveness and become useless for the kingdom.
We are called to be light in the darkness. We are called to show hope when everyone else is in despair. We are to show love to those who don’t even know what the word really means. There is nothing more relevant than that.
Now that’s really living!
Clay in the Hands 
3 excellent points. And the third is totally under-rated. Everyone needs an accountability partner.
Well said.
Brian you are doing an excellent job on this site. Living everyday to the fullest for our Lord and helping others to realize they need Him as much as we do. I pray as A Christian we at First Baptist Church of Levelland are a light unto the world and the community. I am so thankful for the Prayer Warriors of our church and the staff we have that really care about us and our families.