More than Before
Sometimes I shift into autopilot.
I slip into the (bad) habit of just "getting through another day." I don't set goals. I'm not looking for challenges. In fact, I'm dodging difficulties and difficult realities.I'm merely coasting by. And if I'm honest with myself, I do this more than sometimes.
Autopilot is my default.
The thing about coasting is.... it's lazy. It's easy. It's powerless.
And our lives should offer more. Something greater.
I want my life to matter. I want my epitaph to me true of me---- whatever it says.
I believe firmly in William James' famous reminder: "The great use of life is to spend it for something that will outlast it...."
Autopilot is inward focused and requires little of us emotionally, mentally, spiritually, or physically.
Coasting demands nothing. It's a resting. Which can be necessary at times, but it should not be a way of life.
To be humane is to care for others; the obvious root of that word is human. We are humans. It should be intrinsic that we care, and about more than just ourselves!
To be a Christ follower means that you enter into the joy and despair of the world.
Today, I read a verse that reminded me of why autopilot is unacceptable. Revelation 2:19 says, "I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first" (NIV).
And so..... I must fight against my tendency to coast. I can become more than I was before.
I am capable of shifting gears. I can engage.
I will.
I choose to be alive. Awake.
Caring, considerate of others (not just self).
Loving.
Forgiving.
I will not shy away from a challenge.
I refuse to accept autopilot as my default. I will not coast through life. It's too precious. And I am meant for more.... than before.
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