Weather Report From Heaven: Sunny and bright, with an abundance of light and lots of singing and rejoicing.
Scripture- “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” – Matthew 16:25
Insight: We all cling so tight to create a life we envision, but God says let go and I will give it to you. As I have progressed through my faith walk, over the past 19 years, one thought continues to come to mind that sums up the struggle we face living as Christians on this earth in 2021. We all still battle with our fleshly desires to live a “horizontal life” based on our own aspirations, desires and need for control of how our life should look, rather than what Jesus is calling us to, a “vertical life” that entails dying to our own dreams and letting Him be the one that shapes our future based on His Biblical Truths. Ask yourself an honest question to see how hard this battle is: Is it easier to live for yourself or to live to “love thy neighbor as thyself?” The two are in complete conflict, so there is always a level of friction, or tension, built into our life as Christians. Our flesh “horizontal living” is our default setting. It takes impetus to get to living by the “Spirit,” which is vertical living. Horizontal living is really fear based living, with an inherent trust deficit built in, whereas vertical living is faith-based living with complete trust that God will provide all we need. That doesn’t mean we lay around on the couch and eat Cheetos all day and abdicate our responsibility to be engaged partners in what God is calling us to do. Rather, it is a mentality that allows us to be open to whatever God calls us to and to deeply trust that He will provide. Psalm 23:1 says it this way “The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing.” It may be in business, or medicine or the arts, but whatever it is, it’s all for God’s glory, and not our own.
Horizontal living is very tiring as at its core it is focused on a mentality of lack or loss, and trying to protect what you can never keep. Vertical living is focused on faith, and eternity and what we can never lose. In horizontal living, we struggle so hard to hold on to our looks, our possessions, our status, our career, our youth, but they are all very much transient in nature. We struggle to find that perfect place of contentment where we feel we finally have “enough,” which is usually tied to financial accumulation or material possessions or affirmation and acceptance from others, but it rarely if ever comes. In horizontal living we are tired from trying desperately to hold on to what we can never keep, while vertical living is liberating because it is focusing on what we can never lose, through our eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. Vertical living is focused on bigger purposes, like effecting the world through the reckless love and generosity of God.
So why is it so hard to live vertically instead of horizontally? It sounds easy right? One brings life and freedom, the other brings fatigue and bondage. It is because of the battle between the flesh and Spirit that we read about in Galatians 5:17-24 and that I mentioned above. It is unending and it is raging all around us, pitting flesh vs Spirit. We have been taught a big lie about what success means in this world, and it has been so ingrained into our psyche through a life- long media bombardment that it is hard to extricate ourselves from that lie that puts such pressure on us about how we’re supposed to look, or that our self worth is somehow tied to our net worth. So, we spend our health trying look “right” or stay “young” or tying to accumulate wealth, and if we are lucky enough to earn wealth, then we will most likely spend it later trying to regain our health that was compromised by our “win at all costs” mentality of accumulating the wealth in the first place. A vicious cycle indeed! We get caught up playing the game of life on the devil’s terms in horizontal living vs. on God’s terms in vertical living. All I know is my best efforts in finding satisfaction in horizontal living, or stuff, or what the world calls “success” has left me either exhausted or unfulfilled. The toughest lesson for me was learning that money can never buy what only God can offer, which is deep peace and contentment, and that’s the part the media conveniently leaves out. Only through Christ and His unending grace, mercy, forgiveness and love have I felt contentment and peace on this side of eternity. So yes, it sounds weird, but living vertically and losing our life so we can find it in Christ, is truly the only recipe that works and leads to true contentment. Just don’t expect many to understand it!
Prayer: Jesus, thank you that you love us so much that “while we were still sinners, you died for us,” as Romans 5:8 testifies. That transaction is mind boggling and impossible to truly comprehend, but all we can do is respond in gratitude and live our lives to please you. What can we do today that is great in your kingdom’s sight, that has eternal value? Guide us to that place as that is where our destiny lies. We pray for your strength and power to help us die to our flesh and live by the Spirit. Amen!
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