The Life

When I graduated high school, my youth group attended a conference called Project X at Peace College in Raleigh. There was a guest speaker there who had a great message. To open, he went through the audience and asked a few people why they were Christians or why they believed in God. The answers varied from "I just always have" to "I don't know what else to believe", but they all basically said the same thing: I don't know. The speaker then went on to tell us his answer, which was something that I've always remembered. When asked why he was a Christian, his response was "I am a Christian because I believe that Jesus Christ offers the best life possible". At the time, I didn't get it. I thought it was kind of obvious. I thought it was going to be some profound reasoning that would make me and the rest of the audience have light bulbs suddenly appear over our heads and pop on. I thought it was just another Sunday School answer. 

But then life happened. And I made some bad choices. I didn't talk to God and I didn't want to. And my life fell apart. I was miserable because I was empty, and searching for something missing. It wasn't that I didn't believe, I just got selfish. It was like I totally forgot that if I just did things God's way, life was pretty good. But being the stubborn person that I am it took me 3 years to figure this out. 

So after my life was basically turned upside down and I had no other options, it was back to God I went running. And things got better. And better. And I remembered what the speaker at Project X said. Jesus Christ offers the best life possible. He was so right. But what is a good life anyway? 

Some may consider a good life one in which you have all things you've ever wanted. The house, the car, the kids, the pool, the clothes, the boat, the job, etc. But the life that I'm talking about is way better than that. The good life I'm referring to is one where I have bad hair days, my clothes don't fit, rent is late, my check engine light is on, plans get cancelled and I have a nice meltdown. But then I get to talk to God. And I look around at my friends and family and Tanner and can't help but feel like I am the richest person in the world. It's when I catch a sunset that catches my breath in return. Or when I laugh with my mom until I can't breathe and my stomach hurts. Or fishing trips with my dad when we don't catch a single thing except a sunburn. It's when I remember that this life is not the end at all. But just a small speck of what is to be, after I get to leave this troubled world. That, to me, is the best life possible.