"I went to the woods because I wished to live differently, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so clear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms." (Henry David Thoreau)
I've been struck by this quote every time I watch the movie Dead Poet's Society. By the desire in it to live life to the full. To get every last bit of life out of time on earth.
It makes me wonder about where we can really fulfill that desire for life to the full. Because, I don't think it's ultimately found in anything on this earth. Place, or people, or things, may have a part to play. But they're not going to help us "suck out all the marrow of life" on their own.
In John 10:10, Jesus says that He came to bring life to the full. Jesus is the Source of the full life we're looking for. Without Him, we'll never truly find it.
We may have moments that seem like it. We may have a fleeting feeling that this is the best of life. But it's not going to last. We'll end up searching for the next thing. An endless cycle of thinking we found it and the searching for it again when that one fades.
When we choose to seek Christ with everything in us, we find the satisfaction of life that we are all searching for. Matthew 6:33 tells us to, "Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things will be added to you."
We can live this life to the full, a life that we don't find lacking in anything at the end, when we seek God first. We may not do it perfectly. We may not get it right all the time. But, we can be assured that in doing so, we find the only way to live the life we are really longing for.
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