Gleanings – Eat, Drink but Live with Purpose
1 Corinthians 15:29-41
“If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’”
What horizon orders your life? What is the backdrop upon which you paint your story?
That is Paul’s chief concern here. Those who dis the resurrection of the dead are dissing something far greater, the existence of God. They are living as if there are no consequences, as if there is no ultimate and eternal “tomorrow.” All that awaits these folks is death. Therefore, eat, drink and be merry. Hakuna matata!
The worry free no consequence life is appealing. Finnegan lives it in Fool’s Gold. Sun. Sand. Treasure. I’m “all in.” Kristen would say “Calgon, take me away.” Some people save all of their lives for such an experience. But therein lies the problem. It is not a way of life. It is an escape from it. It is a vacation.
On the contrary, our lives are meant to be lived with purpose 24/7, even during the occasional trip to Disney or other la la land. We are meant to live as if a Creator created us. And we are meant to live as if the same Creator unshackled us from both sin and death in Christ Jesus.
So life isn’t haphazard because we didn’t get where we are haphazardly. The Spirit directed life allows for plenty of spontaneity. But the Spirit is always directing us to fulfill our purpose, not to be a doctor or lawyer or at least only to the extent that it is within the higher calling or vocation of being a follower of Jesus.
This should cause us to live with expectation. We should be vigilant in considering where God is working. Why did that person just engage me in conversation out of the blue? What does God want me to glean (take) from this conversation or this potentially new relationship? More important, what does God want me to invest (give) in this moment, in this relationship. How is God orchestrating an opportunity for me to fulfill my purpose of bearing witness and bringing Him glory?
What is your canvas like? Are you living with this much sensitivity, this much expectation? Or are we unknowingly so consumed with another agenda (or no agenda –just eating and drinking) that we are living as if God does not exist and didn’t raise Jesus from the dead?
April 11th, 2012 at 1:47 PM
This reminds me of a time I told my co-worker that Mary Elizabeth and I moved to DC not knowing a soul because that’s what God led us to do. I also told him I don’t know where where we’d go from here when we decide to move. He replied, “Piretti’s a rebel!” I don’t think so, just living. Spontaneity? Yeah I think some Christians have it thanks to the Holy Spirit – I don’t think the Holy Spirit is shackled by “boundaries”, almost laughable if you think about it that we’d think it WOULD have those. I feel ashamed already!