Leroy Seat, in his blog, quoted Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw on their views about life. Macbeth, a realist, pessimistically exclaimed,
"Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing"
While G. B. Shaw, an idealist, optimistically said, “Life is no ‘brief candle’ to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible.“
Seat explored both views and concluded that, while in his old age, “Rather than spending most of my time thinking and talking about the past, as we oldsters are inclined to do, I want to keep thinking about the future and about what (little) I can do to help create a better world.”
While I agree with Seat, I would suggest that a biblically grounded view of life is still the best manner to live life purposefully.
Jesus is the life (Jn. 1:4; 11:25; 14:6). Christ is the source of all life but humanity embraced sinfulness which became their nature, thus falling short in comprehending what life truly means (Gen. 3:14-20; Rom. 3:10, 23). And this life in this fallen world will not be easy; there will be suffering, trials, and pain, but in Christ, there is much felicity (Jn. 15:20; 16:33; 1 Pt. 4:12-13). Only Christ can give meaning to life (Col. 3:4), satisfy our longingness, and our hope (Ps. 107:9; Isa. 40:31). Live, celebrate life, grieve, rejoice, cry, be content, love, give thanks, and pray (Eccl. 3:1-8; Phil. 4:4, 11-13; 1 Jn 4:11; 1 Thess. 5:16-17). Cherish and Live for His glory (Rom. 11:36; 1 Cor. 10:31).
This is the way of life; it is the way of Christ. Serve Christ, worship God, and live by the Spirit. This is a purposeful living, a life with unspeakable joy. Macrina said, “True happiness is not found in the glories of the world, but in the service of God.”
Reference:
Leroy Seat, “Life: A Brief Candle or a Splendid Torch?” The View from This Seat, Published 10 November 2020, https://theviewfromthisseat.blogspot.com/2020/11/life-brief-candle-or-splendid-torch.html.
Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash
John&Paul's Reflections 