A Deeper Life . . .

Once upon a time there was a boy. Just an ordinary boy, mind you. Same story told a thousand times before. Oldest of four. Divorced parents. Raised by Hollywood (aka television and radio). Paid attention. Figured out life at a young age. A good life = love, security, and pleasure. Love = married to a centerfold. Security = money. Pleasure = stuff, lots and lots of stuff. How to get there? Achievement! Plan A – Great athletes get the women and the money. Plan B (just in case) – top grades = top college = top job = good money. Went for it. Obsessed, some would say. Driven. Outworked all others.

Success . . . sort of. High school football star, basketball star, track star = hot sex life. Serious study = top grades. Scholarships. College success. Same song, second verse. Problem . . . . emptiness. This cannot be happening. Following the equation. It’s not working. Must try harder. Darkness. Confusion.

Surprise! Light shining into darkness . . . from an unanticipated source. An ancient text. Out-of-date. Antiquated. Intriguing. True? Couldnt’ be.  No way. Goals had been established. A life had been devoted to their achievement. They were . . . well . . . gods. Can’t give them up now . . . just when they are starting to be realized. But in the dark recesses of the soul . . . doubt. Are these dreams empty promises? . . . shallow? . . . fake?.

The ancient text continued to illuminate. A deeper life. There . . . on every page . . . laid out for all to see. Calling. Beckoning. Promising the very thing that could not be found . . . . “I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly.” A completely new paradigm. A good life is not a thing, not an equation, not an achievement . . . it’s a person . . . it’s a relationship? “Follow me,” he said. Sorry . . . can’t. Have plans. Have dreams. Have . . . excuses.

Nose stuck in the ancient text, looking for answers. An irreversible process. Words of truth shining ever brighter onto a life . . . exposing it for what it really is . . . a failure. The objects pursued had been obtained . . . achievement, sex, popularity, possessions. But the fruit that they promised did not come with them. Love, security, peace, lasting happiness . . . missing in action. A total failure. A whole life based on a lie . . . an empty promise. Now . . . for the first time . . . sight. There really was nothing to give up. What had been obtained wasn’t worth hanging onto. And not alone in this dilemma.  The problem bigger still. A worldwide epidemic. A whole planet pursuing gods of its own making, hoping to find a life that was not there to be found. The blind leading the blind. Light. Sight. Wisdom. A choice to be made. Could one risk it all . . . leave the world behind . . . believe . . . follow?

October 10, 1980. A little gymnasium. A concert. A speaker. “Choose tonight. Will you follow?” Will you trust the ancient text, leave your old life behind, enter into a new relationship, and begin a deeper life? Fear. Doubt. A surge of power! Clarity! A choice to make! A choice made! Goodbye old life. Hello new.

Twenty-seven years later. What a ride! Yet only just begun.  Eternity is a long time . . . or not.

There is a deeper life. Not wishful thinking. Not empty promises. Reality 101. Truth. Light. Do you hear? Are you listening? There is an ancient text. It contains light. It changed a life. It still is. One of countless millions so affected.  He is there. He can change you. Do you dare?

“If you grab onto my Words, you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

So here are shared with you the simple reflections of a simple man . . . a failure on his own, who unwittingly, but thankfully, became the recipient of an amazing grace. Ancient truths . . . pure light . . . a way which leads to the deeper life.

“I will never forget your words, for by them you have revived me.”