YOLO!

     Either you see where I'm going after just reading the title, or you are planning a way to kill me brutally and slowly because I just used the term You Only Live Once.  Either way, bear with me.  
     Ok, I've actually heard a couple of people use the term YOLO, and legitimately mean it, so perhaps there is a more pleasant, normal second option to becoming a murderer, but generally people scoff at the term YOLO.  I want to correct this concept, though, and I thought it especially appropriate to do so on Easter weekend.  
     Around 2000 years ago, our savior, Jesus Christ, didn't only live once, and that's what we celebrate today.  He died on the cross for our sins, and after three days He rose again, and today He's up in heaven, right next to the Father.  He didn't only live once, and neither do we.  Without His death, we would be damned to hell for our eternal "second" life.  However, because Christ died for us, He gives us the option of spending that "second" life in eternal glory in heaven, with Him.  The Bible says we are saved by grace (His choosing to come and die for us, even though we didn't deserve it) through faith (our choice to believe IN Him and live FOR him). So, first of all, YOLO is incorrect - we don't only live for the short time on this earth; our life extends into eternity, and it is our choice how we will live that "second" life. 
     Continuing off of that correction (and forgive me if this becomes an expression of my confusion regarding the way YOLO is often used), even if you define living once as the amount of time that we will spend in our earthly bodies, I simply don't understand how this can be used to condone using drugs, having sex with every other person you meet, and binge drinking.  In my mind, you only live once, so you need to make something of that life.  Even if you aren't a disciple of Christ, and/or you don't agree with my view on our "second" eternal life, this still applies to you.  Life is short and time is precious, so rather than wasting it by being consumed with self... make a difference in the world.  Change someone else's life, and, at the same time, change your own. 

If something I've said has triggered a response in your heart, and you want to find out more about this Christ that died for you, email us at reflections.on.life764@gmail.com