What justifies your life?
Soldiers who die at 18 years old don’t get to live. John Keats, one of the greatest English poets, died at 26. In the 2/3 world infant mortality snatches thousands before they even get a name.
So, does your manner of life, and the outcomes of your actions, indicate you, rather than they, are worth living?
(A question I ask myself)
In my Southern U.S. evangelistic culture winning another to faith in Christ is #1. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, generosity, fidelity, self-control (Galatians 5.22-23)–also makes your life worthy. Compassion for the least of these Christ’s sisters and brothers is equally validating.
The dominant American culture, however, prizes beauty, wealth, pleasure, and fame as achievements of the life well lived.
As an example of a worthy life, I think of Habakkuk, the obscure poet/prophet of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.
His name evidently refers to a plant. It lacks a God-element so common in Hebrew names, like “Je-” or “Jo-” or ”Yah/jah” short for Yahweh, or “El,” a word meaning God. (Example: Elijah)
Nothing is known about him, except that his “little” book reveals first-hand knowledge of the 7th century BCE, when Babylon was the enemy of God’s people.
In “Bel and the Dragon” (an addition to the book of Daniel found only in Greek translation, not in Hebrew), the prophet Daniel finds himself once again in the lions’ den, this time for killing a dragon worshipped by his Babylonian rulers, and not for one night, but for six days. The Spirit of God lifts Habakkuk by the crown of the head and carries him and the stew he has made to provide Daniel food. As a metaphor of someone who nourishes you spiritually in tough times, this story is right on the money.
Summing up, his life is worthwhile because:
- he asks great questions.
- he states simply one of the greatest principles of religion.
- he experiences the majesty of God.
(1) The prophet has seen violent, wicked people destroy righteous people. He asks, how can God tolerate such evil? That question has yet to be answered. The best questions are like shovels; they help us dig a foundation that weathers the storm, not by giving us answers but by bringing us face to face with the living God (as Job’s questions brought him, Job 42). If I could ask one or two great questions, that would keep my life from being wasted.
(2) He stated the heart of biblical religion in a few words. Habbakuk 2.4b says:
“The righteous will live by their faithfulness.” (TNIV, courtesy Bible Gateway)
The righteous, those who live by the Torah of God, wait patiently through the storm and trust God without wavering. According to one rabbi in the Babylonian Talmud, this statement “encapsulates all the commandments” (Jewish Study Bible, p. 1229). It is cited in Romans 1.17; Galatians 3.11; and, Hebrews 10.38-39—and is bedrock of Christian faith.
The concluding hymn of the book elaborates on faith in trial:
Though the fig tree does not bud
and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.
The Sovereign LORD is my strength;
he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
he enables me to go on the heights. (3.17-19
(3) Habakkuk experiences exalted moments, when he sees the glory of God:
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD
as the waters cover the sea. (2.14)
But the LORD is in his holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before him.” (2.20)
In the final analysis, I believe, our worth rests in our being created by God and redeemed by Christ. But, if at the end of my days, I could look back on a page or two of writing anywhere near the insight and majesty of Habakkuk’s, I’d feel pretty damn good about my days.
