I heard recently about an interesting vow that some people are making. It’s a pact between two friends that if they are not married by a certain age then they will marry each other. Sounds crazy, right? Well, there actually are people out there that have made it work, but few and far between ever follow through with this kind of commitment.
Strange as it may sound, people do this with God all the time. It might not be as straight forward as, “Jesus, if I don’t have a god in my life by age 30, then I’ll serve you!” but they mean the same with statements like “I haven’t lived it up enough yet to give my heart to God. Maybe when I get older I’ll think about it.”
I think people say this because they believe Jesus to be a cosmic killjoy—sucking the fun out of life. They don’t want to be tied down in their prime, so they end up on a quest trying to live it up without a relationship with God. In doing so, they miss out on the true life right in front of them. Jesus said, “I have come so that they may have life, and have it to the fullest,” and “anyone who seeks to save his life will lose it, but he who loses his life for my sake will find it.”
In the moments leading up to death, if we are given a chance to reflect, we will not be thinking about how we should have partied more…worked more…drank more. Our thoughts will rather turn to how we should have loved more…forgiven more…served others more…given more to building the relationships and memories that far outlive us. It’s no coincidence that’s how Jesus taught us to live.
He knows us.
He knows what we need to experience a content and meaningful life.
I wonder if the people making those pacts ever regret the time they wasted searching for someone else, when love was right there in front of them the whole time. Selfishness often results in regret, not long-term happiness. The mystery of marriage is that it is selfless, and yet somehow, makes one feel more alive and complete than one could ever feel trying to simply live it up alone!
