The Vivid Life

“When we are bored, it can only be because we have stopped looking at Jesus. He can’t be boring. If we find him boring, it’s because we are boring. The deficiency is ours, not his.”

What a bold statement from Jared Wilson. Do you ever find yourself scrolling Instagram, looking at pictures of great adventures and amazing lifestyles and thinking, “Why is my life so boring?” I know I do.

Christians…we’ve got to stop doing that. We literally hold the keys to the most vivid of lives, and yet, we’re simply standing in front of a locked door, refusing to open it.

Over and over, the Bible calls us to REJOICE in the Lord. Examples:

“Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!” (1 Chron. 16:10)

“But let all who take refuge in you rejoice.” (Ps. 5:11)

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Ps. 97:12)

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” (Phil. 4:4)

“Rejoice always.” (1 Thess. 5:16)

Whenever I read my Bible, I feel like I always need to have my phone close by in order to Google the definitions of words. As I’ve been reading, I realized that I didn’t have a great working definition of ‘rejoice’ in my head, so, I of course looked it up. Merriam-Webster defines ‘rejoice’ as ‘to feel joy or great delight’.

Great. Delight.

Russell Moore once wrote, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for yesterday you were dead.” Folks, if we have a personal relationship with Christ, we have been COMPLETELY REDEEMED. Although we deserve to pay the penalty for cosmic treason against a holy and just God, we are instead adopted as beloved children of this same great Creator. How could we live with a spirit of anything less than great delight?

We look at pleasure, at the beautiful things in this world as what will lead us astray, not realizing that what truly leads us down dark and sinful roads is a heart fixated on anything less than the beauty and glory of God, a heart not absolutely enthralled with how amazing it is to be saved and loved by Christ. If we are saved, we have the ability to lead truly the most vivid of lives!

Life is a great adventure, and redemption in Christ gives us a beautiful new perspective with which to see EVERY LITTLE THING differently. We can wake up enthralled with how great it is to be snuggled into bed on a rainy Saturday morning. I can sip my coffee in sheer amazement that God would make anything this side of heaven taste so good. I can laugh through my tears when heartbroken because I know that I’m saved, secured, and that this is pre-life; my actual life is hidden with Christ and will carry on into the ages.

The vivid life isn’t the one filled with gorgeous Instagram posts or being a roaming heart, a traveler of the world (even though those things are absolutely wonderful and should be fully enjoyed). A vivid life is one lived every single day with the realization that because Jesus loves us, EVERYTHING is better. Coffee is greater, romance is sweeter, stars shine brighter. So, Christians, uncross your arms, lighten your hearts, and realize that even when life looks dark, it’s still vivid and bright because we walk with the Creator of the stars.