We can choose to live for something bigger than us, or we can simply live to get by. It’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind of work, paying bills, housekeeping and shopping. While these are important aspects of living, we can fall into a trap of busyness. In our hearts, I think we all yearn to live for something that makes us feel alive, that gives us a purpose. As author and pastor Mark Batterson wrote, “We start dying when we have nothing worth living for. And we don’t really start living until we find something worth dying for.”
Living for something that we strongly believe in and are willing to devote our lives to takes courage. The more than 1.1 million Americans have died in war had this courage. Each of these individuals had a name, family and life that they wanted to come back home to, but, sadly, never did. On Memorial Day let us pause to honor these men and women who lived for something worth dying for, our freedom.
My friend, Joe, was 18 when drafted for the Vietnam War, as was his cousin. They both saw the horrors of war, but tragically one of them never made it home. Joe’s cousin died in Vietnam and not a day goes by that Joe doesn’t think of him.
Most of us will never serve in the military or go to war, but we, too, can find the thing that makes us come alive, our larger purpose. We can live a life of conviction, courage and commitment to something bigger. Jackie Robinson, the first African American to play major league baseball, said, “A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.” Let us seek to have that kind of impact.
