YOLO?

Actually, YLF—You Live Forever. We all do. How we live is EVERYTHING.

YOLO: You Only Live Once. So eat, drink and be merry. What you do matters not. If this is true, how we live is meaningless. If we don’t get past the grave, what’s the point? All is nothing. It’s worse than nothing; it’s irrelevant. We are irrelevant.

YOLO? Not so much. Thankfully, it’s a four-letter lie.

You and I and everyone who’s ever lived—on this earth and beyond—are made in God’s image. We are all lovingly crafted by the Creator of all things, not to live as we will, but as we ought. We are made to live like him, to bear his likeness, to glorify him.

God is love and perfectly loving. He is free from all our weaknesses in the here and now. Our bodies age and wither. We fail and flail. He thrives. God is hale, hearty and whole each and every day. But take heart, he created you for this too. For LIFE.

LIFE: Living in Freedom Everyday

It’s a delusion (and a deception) to buy that this life is all there is. If it were, God would be irrelevant too. He wouldn’t be. God wants us to believe him, not the lie of YOLO. After all, it was whispered first by a snake. It’s a logical conclusion of the first lie.

If our deceiver can’t convince us that we can be as God, he tries to convince us that we can live as if there IS no God, no right and wrong, no such thing as good and evil.

YOLO is BS—Blatant Silliness. (I’m still a seventh-grade Sunday School teacher.) You thought I was referring to something smelly in a field. (I’m trying to say no to my junior high self.) My point is this:

Our enemy wants us to believe that THIS is all there is, that it’s as good as it gets and that we may as well party and indulge our every urge and splurge.

It’s tripe, balderdash and bunk (fun British words).

If this life is as good as we can make it on our own, a whole lotta people are spinning their wheels ‘round and ‘round and everybody look at what’s fallin’ down. A life lived by our own devices will leave us empty and burdened with eternal regret rather than blessed with forever joy.

Look around you. What do you see?

I see someone who seemingly thinks that the good life comes with toys. Or pricey things. Or valuable stuff. Or by doing whatever floats his boat whenever he feels like his boat needs floated. I know. In some ways, I was like this.

When life is lived for self, it’s easy to blame others for a gaping hole in a heart and a lack of joy.

YOLO? If this how to live, I’ll pass. And so will the grumbler, if the Savior draws his heart. I pray he will. I pray this daily because I love the guy. And I know that God can love him perfectly. He can fill every hole in his YOLO-hoodwinked heart. Jesus has beaten the liar and the lie.

YOLO stands no chance next to YHWH.

How do we do LIFE? We live free in an enslaved and broken world. Living free begins with believing the truth about abundant life. This is not all there is. Life is much more than fast cars, bucket lists, hopeless romances and relationships, fame and fortune, “the good life”, hefty houses and mortgages, yada yada.

LIFE is about living for eternity, with purpose and FREEDOM.

We think that if we meet and marry “The One” after convincing ourselves that he or she will make us happy, and then years later we doubt and question whether that other sinner was The One after all. Here’s a timeless truth:

No person is The One. Only God can be our all in all.

God is not interested only in your happiness, but in your eventual holiness. The one person you think can make you happy cannot. Nor can he or she help you become holy—unless God uses them to do so through his power. “Matches made heaven” often lead to a hell on earth. Why?

Because “perfect marriages” don’t exist any more than YOLO does. No one’s perfect and neither is life. It’s messy. We’re all messy. All people and all lives brim with stuff that stifles peace and makes happiness hard. Our brokenness goes back to the garden.

Living free begins with believing God when he says through Jesus Christ, his Son: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10 ESV)

and

“So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John‬ ‭8‬:‭36‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

and again,

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John‬ ‭8‬:‭31‬b-‭32‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

What does LIFE look like? Ask God to show you. He made you in freedom.

If he’s calling you, he’s calling you for LIFE. You know it’s true. Do Christ’s words stir your heart to live beyond YOLO and toward YHWH? Do they make it glow? Try this:

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

LIFE can start now. Right now. LIVE free.