Surely we have all seen how Olympic divers barely make a splash as they dive into the pool. On a good dive, one enters the water, there is a sucking sound, the water closes in on the spot where the diver entered the water, and within seconds, there is no sign that the water was even disturbed.
This makes a great dive, but it stands in contrast to a great life. In life, one wants to make a splash. One wants to make a wake that will be seen and felt long after one has departed from this world.
Over the past few months, I’ve been entertaining the thought of how our lives should be lived in such a way as to leave a lasting mark on as many others as possible. I’ve concluded that a great life is not one that is lived in obscurity, isolated from the world, but rather one that engages and challenges the world, and makes a lasting impact after one is dead and gone.
Let us seek to “outlive our lives.” No better illustration can be found than that of Abel. He was the first man on Earth to die, yet the writer of the book of Hebrews said, “…He being dead, yet speaks” (Hebrews 11:4). Talk about outliving your life!
Friends, with what time we have left, let us engage our culture, challenge our friends and family to holiness, situate ourselves so that we stand in the “Son” and reflect His light to a world living in darkness, and when we are dead and gone, may we go out, not like an Olympic diver, but like a back yard canonballer!