What is Life, Exactly?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of life can be boiled down to “the sequence of physical and mental experiences that make up the existence of an individual.”

Are you satisfied with that definition? That life is merely a series of events? I know I’m not. In the short sixteen years I have lived, I believe that my being amounts to much more than the mere concrete experiences that occur on this earth. I have felt too deeply, felt love without bounds, and cried too bitterly with our broken world to ever limit my existence to physical and mental experiences.

In some respects, if the Merriam-Webster definition were the entire truth, I think life would be significantly easier. Without any dimension beyond the here-and-now, we have no moral, emotional, or spiritual obligation to a deity or to people or to a system of ideals. Sorrow runs no deeper than chemicals in the brain. And we are essentially floating aimlessly, existing aimlessly.

What I know, though, is that my life must be anchored to some Sovereign. I cannot possess a desire for meaning, for love, and for beauty in the absence of their source. I see design when I walk in the park or study biology; I see love in the way my parents treasure me; I see redemption in my growth from brokenness. As C.S. Lewis famously writes, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” I thus firmly believe that God created you and me individually, fearfully, and wonderfully. And this informs us of our calling to navigate life as image bearers–to cultivate goodness and serve our purpose as human beings.

The following are three ways I can best navigate my life:

1. Set your mind on the spirit.
2. Love people and love them hard.
3. Express yourself creatively.

Expect a new post each Monday expanding on these three principles–on how we may live life fruitfully, how we may live life well.