The often used cliche – ‘Live life loud!’ is generally used to represent boisterous living. However, in a wider context, musical images of loudness relate to a trumpet or bugle call that get people’s attention. A clanging bell on the other hand, is a bothersome sound. Visual images also carry meaningful messages; a giant sunflower reaches majestically towards the heavens, whereas weeds annoy us and grow where they are not welcome.
If you had a bird’s eye view of your life, how would it look – sunflower or weed; trumpet or clanging bell? 1 Corinthians 13:1 talks about a resounding gong and clanging cymbal in relation to people who are obnoxious because they do not have love towards their fellow men. They are people you want to run far away from.
Aren’t we here to be a blessing? We read in Isaiah 52:7 (NKJV), “How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’”
Some people do not realise that we all have an expiry date. They are so obsessed with accumulating things that they forget to live life. They aggressively work for their things, rather than for enjoying life and in the process, the things shape who they are. Psalm 103:15 (NKJV) says, “As for man, his days are like grass; As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.” When you are gone, would people remember you as a noxious weed or a bold sunflower?
Let’s make our sojourn here a remarkable one. Live life loud in a way that attracts rather than repels people. We can do this if we have a signpost. Isaiah 40:7-8 (NKJV) says, “The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.” When we live our life according to God’s word, we have a solid foundation. We can then live a life of significance and worth. ◊
Linda Pearl
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