Day 1: Still Alive

Is this where the story ends? 

Are we just beginning?

Live the lie and we’ll pretend

We’re fighting for something

If I lose the world I know

If the night, it comes for me

If tomorrow fades 

And nothing matters

I am still alive

What’s it all for? 

The lyrics from our song “Still Alive” were inspired by the great Biblical book of Ecclesiastes. The words are as relevant today in our modern world as they were when they were written. The wise teacher of Israel, likely king Solomon, begins the book with a sad-but-true realization, “Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless” (Ecclesiastes 1:2 NIV). While this exclamation seems very pessimistic, the Teacher is wrestling with a cruel reality we all must face… that our days on earth are numbered… that no matter what we do in this life, whether good or bad, we all end up at the same destination… death. Our lives are fleeting. Our time on earth is short. James 4:14 (NIV) says, “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while then vanishes.” 

Coming to grips with the truth of our mortality can lead us toward two very different paths. We can either choose to embrace the meaninglessness of life, striving after cheap thrills and momentary happiness. Or we can recognize the conclusion of the Ecclesiastes writer, that the entire purpose of our lives is to “fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of mankind” (Ecclesiastes 12:13 NIV). We are “still alive,” and while we live and breathe on this earth, our duty is to change the world around us, bringing God’s promised heavenly Kingdom to earth.

This world, as it is now, is not our final home. With that truth comes hope. It is a comfort to know that as believers, all our pain, hopelessness, and loneliness will eventually be gone. God has prepared a place for us, as it says in John 14:3 (NIV). “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”