What does that question even mean? When you hear that question, I wonder what comes to mind for you? For some, it conjures up pictures of laying on the beach, listening to the waves, with a cold drink in your hand, which somebody comes and refills without you even having to ask. Or perhaps it is cruising around the world with the most difficult decision you have to make is which swim suit to wear as you lay by the pool.
For others, living the good life takes on a completely different image. I think of my friend Paul who recently retired from years of working at an international non-profit organization. He has some hip issues which can making simple walking difficult. One might think, “Well, now that he is retired he can “live the good life,” sitting around not needing to do anything more difficult than watching TV and taking naps. While slowing things down as we get older is certainly understandable, coming to a complete stop is never what God intended.
So what does the “good life” look like For Paul, it entails his volunteer work in prisons while he studies and prepares to become a prison chaplain. Or for my friend Gary Chapman, who is a famous author (most well-known for The Five Love Languages), and is 85 – even though he has sold millions of books and doesn’t need the income – the “good life” is that he is still in demand to speak at conferences, continues to author books, as well as still hosting a radio show. He once told me that as long as God gives him the energy, he will keep doing what he has been called to do.
So my encouragement is rather than stagnating and rusting – live the good life for which God has designed you.