Don't get caught living out someone else's dream for your life - 1 Corinthians 15:54 with a statement from Steve Jobs' commencement address

SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 15:54 (The Message)
Then the saying will come true: Death swallowed by triumphant Life!

A STATEMENT from Steve Jobs’ commencement address:
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life…”

AN OBSERVATION:
What memorable lines from a memorable life! We get caught up trying to meet other people’s expectations for our life, career, personality, relationships … you can add your own category to this list. And, so, we bend overbackwards trying to make ourselves fit into their expectations for us. It will never work … no matter how hard we work at it!

Living a triumphant life is living a life of victory. It is living it as God designed for us to live it. I liked Mr. Jobs’ comment about doing what brings joy into your life. If you are not happy, move on. Don’t waste your time. Life is too short!

Sometimes we simply get caught by old tapes … those well meaning statements made by significant individuals, like our parents, that we keep replaying in our heads and thus, we get caught up in their agendas for our life … even after they have long pasted away. Life is too short! Erase the tapes and we need to live our life!

We only come through this life once – regardless of what those who believe in reincarnation might think – so it would behoove us to embrace every moment and make the best of it. Who was it that said, “I want to dance at my funeral!” What a great idea. The absolute joy of living life at the fullest.

It is amazing the freedom we can experience when we stop worry about what other people might think or how they are going to react. I served as an interim pastor to a non-Methodist congregation once after I retired. It became a standard line during those five years, “If you don’t like what I am sharing then what’s the worst that can happen? Fire me? I was retired already!” There is a freedom in that feeling. But why wait until you get too old to make a real difference in the lives that surround you.

Live a triumphant life …don’t waste it living someone else’s dream for you!

PRAYER:
God, we only come through this life once so help us to make the best use of our time. Amen.