A Life Well Lived

This past Sunday I spoke at CLA Coquitlam. Three days earlier, Michael Jackson had suddenly died at the age of 50, sending the media and much of the world into a bit of a tail-spin. This is a man who has performed in front of millions of people since he was 10 years old, sold over 750 million records, recognized by Guiness World Records as being the most successful entertainer of all time and owning the largest selling album of all time (Thriller, 1982), recently sold out 50 concerts to over 750,000 people in London (in a few hours), and in death broke Billboard Chart records as he will own the top of the charts in North America with three albums having sold more than 100,000 copies in a single week. The list can go on and on.

When news of Michael Jackson's death broke, Yahoo & Google both saw unprecedented amounts of traffic, to the point that they believed they were under attack and began sending error messages to people searching on their sites. People in various cities around the world began to celebrate the life of this celebrity from Tokyo to London to New York. Even the U.S. Congress paused for a minute of silence in Michael Jackson's honor!

The irony of what we're seeing all over the news is that a week ago the same media treated Michael Jackson as a freak, a joke, and possibly evil.

Here's a question: Was Michael Jackson's life a life well-lived? Based on the accolades in life and the praise and glory in death, it seems that in the world's eyes it is. In fact, we are blatantly and subliminally taught that the celebrity life is the one we should all aspire to at some level. We walk by their pictures in supermarkets, read about them online, and watch them on TV & in the movies. There are people whose entire existence is centered on taking pictures of them as they, well, do nothing... Really?!

A better question: Is this a life well-lived in God's eyes?

Success in God's eyes begins with the recognition that God is eternal and we are momentary (Isaiah 40:6-8). We must acknowledge, as Isaiah declared, that we are here for a brief moment in time like the grass of the field, and all the glory we accumulate is like the flowers of the field. The grass dies and the flowers will fall... momentary, but it's the Word of God that will last forever!

Further, we must live in such a way that brings glory and honor to God. Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:9-13, but He also taught us how to live!

9 Our Father in heaven
Hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
13 And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

We choose to live in such a way that says:

1. I trust you, because you love me with a Father's heart.
2. You are holy, revered, morally excellent, sacred.
3. I work for your Kingdom so that it will grow on this earth; not for my own 'kingdom'
4. I choose to act on the calls You make because You are good & holy
5. I depend on You for my daily needs, and what I have is because of Your goodness & not my success
6. I need Your forgiveness, and I will forgive others daily
7. There is an evil one prowling around, but we trust in You for protection and know that You are greater!
8. All the glory for the good that comes from our lives belongs to You!

In my life, I make the choice to say: "May my name fade and may the name of the Lord grow brighter through everything I do".

A life well-lived is one that is lived in humility before God and brings glory and honor to the True King; the eternal King; we live our lives to praise the name of Jesus Christ in all we do! To God be the glory forever!