I hear people say this all of the time:  ‘you need to live intentionally’.  I couldn’t agree more.  I want to live intentionally. I want to make every moment count, to seize the day, to live like there’s no tomorrow.  I want to be the master of my own life, not allowing my life to master me; and I want to make a difference: a real, identifiable difference in this world.

But then life happens. Maybe it’s the flat tire on the way to work or the ‘crisis’ of your daughter’s lost cell phone.  It could be a lay-off notice, divorce papers, or a diagnosis.  Sometimes it’s as simple as a pile of clutter that demands cleaning, and other times it’s the life shattering phone call at 3:00 AM.  Whatever it is that life is assaulting you with at this moment, the clear message is that you really are not in control.  In fact, control is a myth.

The logical corollary then is that living intentionally is also a myth … a nice thought maybe, a great sermon topic to be sure, but a myth just the same.  You can’t make life happen.  And that’s true if what you mean by living intentionally is mastering your own life.  But what if living intentionally meant something completely different? 

As Jesus was preparing his closest friends for the greatest crisis of their lives (as He, their leader, would in the next few hours be violently arrested and executed) Jesus assures them that there is a greater plan.  He explains that what will really be happening is necessary for the future of his Kingdom and then he clarifies that the reason He is explaining this to them is so that they may have peace (as opposed to fear). (John 16:33), because “in this world,” He continues, “you will have trouble.  But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

Jesus’ key to living intentionally was not to control His world, nor for us to do so, but rather to live intentionally trusting what His Father was up to in His world.  Yes, it involved choices and positive thinking, but those choices are based on faith.  They are based on faith in a God who is about making every moment count and leading us to seize the day.  Not another ‘keep a stiff upper lip’ pep talk, but a way of living that chooses to stand on the solid rock foundation of the creator of the universe. 

And the truth of that is that living intentionally really is mythic.

To the King,

David