There’s an old song that Frank Sinatra sang titled “That’s Life.” It’s kind of a declaration that the world has mistreated him, but he’s going to reach the top. Here’s part of the chorus:
I said that’s life
(That’s life)
And as funny as it may seem
Some people get their kicks
Stomping on a dream
But I don’t let it, let it get me down
Cause this fine old world, it keeps spinnin’ around
I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet
A pawn and a king
I’ve been up and down and over and out
And I know one thing
Each time I find myself
Flat on my face
I pick myself up and get
Back in the race
That’s life
In a way, that song seems encouraging, but like all things of the world, it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. The lie is because the singer is saying the “he” will overcome. The victory will be his because of what he has done. So, as snappy as that song sounds, it isn’t edifying. Jesus has a different approach.
Assuming you are a Christian, think back to your most memorable experience with God. Maybe it was when you realized that God had saved you. Perhaps it was when you’d poured your heart out to God, and then you had sudden peace, an unmistakable divine touch. Maybe it was the time when you were reading the Bible, and suddenly revelation was birthed inside you; the words seemed to almost lift off the page. God’s divine touch brings us in contact with the light of life.
The light of life
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12
Jesus is the light of the world, and he gives us the “light of life”. It’s not worldly life but God’s life. So here is the difference between Mr. Sinatra’s, “That’s Life” and Christ’s “light of life:” Mr. Sinatra’s, “That’s Life” is not true life. The “light of life” is the original life. It is the life that God put into Adam when God formed Adam; it is life without sin. The “light of life” is what we will receive in full when we enter heaven. This life will be free from lies, murders, adultery, thieves, greed, swindlers, and so forth (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
So, think again upon that memory you had at the beginning of this article. That memory is the smallest of tastes of the life that Jesus has taken from Himself and placed in you. Right now, that life is hindered by our flesh and by the darkness that we continue to allow in our lives.
Good News
Here’s the good news. There is coming a day when all our constraints will fall from us like melting snow from the roof of a home. We will enter the fullness of life. That experience you had will become the norm in your life, and even more that we now cannot comprehend. That’s life, the “light of life” from Jesus.
Photo by Emiel Schalck on Unsplash
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