PROOF OF LIFE
February 29th, 2012 | By admin
By Tim Hall
Have you had any encounters with Sasquatch lately? If so, you might be invited to make a television appearance to talk about it. “Finding Bigfoot” is a show that appears weekly on Animal Planet, and a recent episode focused on the region in which I live! Who knew that one of the most famous humans / beasts was my neighbor?
Of course, the vast majority (I suspect) don’t believe there is such a creature. The “proof” that is put forward is sketchy or subjective at best. Photos that purport to show Bigfoot are usually out of focus, and even at that more resemble someone in an ape costume. Stories that are told of encounters are fanciful. To this point I’ve seen no convincing evidence that Sasquatch has actually lived.
But what about Tim Hall? Is there proof that he has actually lived? An email I received recently posed it this way: “A birth certificate shows that we were born; a death certificate shows that we died; but photographs show that we lived.” By “photographs”, they meant photographs that we might take while doing things or visiting people; experiences of life that we enjoy.
Doesn’t everyone enjoy life? Couldn’t everyone point to proof that they have “lived”? Unfortunately not.
Jesus was once asked to intervene in a financial dispute between two brothers. Our Lord responded with these words: “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). When Jesus Christ speaks about what life is not, we really should listen.
Much of our world today is caught up in the very thing Jesus warned against – covetousness. Just think of the TV commercials you’ve seen; they typically urge us to want something that we don’t have, and to want it enough to buy it. A catalog came to me in the mail entitled “Things You Never Knew You Needed”. If I don’t know that I need it, there’s a strong possibility I really don’t need it. But cravings take hold, and we reach for even more things. But does accumulation equal living?
Life consists of more than an abundance of possessions, Jesus stated. Stated positively, here is where to begin looking if you want to leave behind proof that you lived: “… I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).
Living as Jesus teaches us to live – that will leave plenty of evidence that we actually lived. Deep, compassionate relationships will be formed. Deeds of kindness and service will be remembered. Memories of relaxed joy and laughter will be abundant when we approach life as God teaches us. God created life; He certainly knows the traits that will lead to an abundant life.
Stephen R. Covey wrote in his “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” that we should think of what we would want others to say at our funeral, and then begin living in such a way as to make that happen. His point is just what we’re saying here: Make a difference in others’ lives by loving them, spending time with them, and doing good for them. In being like Jesus, no one will ever question whether we actually lived.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.
Tim Hall is a minister at Central Church of Christ in Johnson City, Tennessee. He is a husband, father, and a friend to many. A gracious Christian.