Fully Alive

The glory of God is human being fully alive!”
-St. Irenaeus

This is a quote that was shared at church this morning. It resonated with what I’ve been reading in A Hobbit, A Wardrobe by Jospeh Locente  and the Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis.
I often hear in secular circles, sometimes even Christian circles, that Christianity is merely a set of rules, and God is like an overly strict and overbearing parent or grandparent. Hearing the above quote by Saint Irenaeus reminded me how contrary that idea is to the Christian life. God is not holding us back from our fullest life, but He desires a full life for each of us. In my writing, I portray the Christian life not as a mundane set of rules and just a weekly attendance of a service but as an adventure and a quest. I believe I adopt this from my inspirations like C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and John Bunyan, and it has been great learning from Locente how both Lewis and Tolkien found the trope of the heroic quest compatiable with their Christian faith.
God gives a call to each man to leave home on this adventure of faith. It requires leaving behind what has been called home and what is comfortable and familiar. It’s the first step of faith, and first act of repentance and penance to leave behind the sin that was once loved and even the goods that were placed on too great a pedestal. For much of the journey, this home is dearly missed.
The journey is not easy or safe, but it grows our character and ability, and we have a new protection and assurance in Providence. The journey takes sacrifice, and includes loss, but it gives meaning and direction, and brings us to beauty and wonders. It is a true quest with a goal, not a wandering from place to place in search of the next thrill. In this adventure, there is no homecoming in the traditional sense, because it becomes a pilgrimage. The home we once left, would no longer be fitting for the heroes we have been made into, so we must press on to a greater destination we have only heard about and been promised.
It is a journey through the valley of despair and over summits of joy. This is the human fully alive that is God’s glory. The Christian life is not the petty rules of a uptight schoolmaster, but rather the code of knights serving their king. There is a level of virtue they must maintain, a duty to fill, and a sacrifice required, but for a purpose of great honor. The lie is that this code, this “law”, restricts life, but in actuality, it is life to the fullest degree.
While our lives usually don’t feel anywhere near as grand as adventures in fantasy, we must remember acting in faith and heeding God’s call on our life is how we live it fully.