Q: be Quick

"What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable?"

John Green

"And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead." Acts 10:42 kjv


Did you ever wonder what that phrase meant by 'Judge of quick and dead'?  As a child, hearing this said in the Apostle's Creed always made me think of the literal meaning of 'quick' - fast or speedy.  I probably pictured my favorite pair of sneakers.  Don't you remember how you just knew it was your fabulous new shoes that made you run like a cheetah?  


It wasn't until later that I came to understand the full meaning of 'quick' in the context, and as I look at it, it is obviously an opposite demonstrated here.  Further digging led me to find that the original meaning of this word in English is 'alive', although the use of the original meaning of this word has all but died out except in this phrase here in Acts and in the Apostle's Creed.


So today's focused encouragement is simple - be Quick.  Be very much Alive.  It sounds like a ridiculous reminder if you're thinking, "Breathing.  Check.  Moving. Check.  Eating.  Check.  Yup.  Think I have this 'alive' thing covered."


Yet, there is so much more to the meaning of the word.  You would be surprised at the number of people that function primarily this way without ever truly being fully 'alive' in every sense of the word.  I know people like that in my own life.  I was once among them.  


It can be different from person to person, but if we stop to think about it, we could probably all identify moments when we felt most alive.  What are those moments for you?  I can recall the moment I sparked to life, the very instant my soul quickened much like a baby in the womb, felt for the first time.  


Of course, for me, this occurred at the ocean.  It was about five years ago, and I had traveled to the beach with my two children and one of their friends.  It was the first time I had ever really taken a trip like that by myself.  I hadn't ever experienced a trip where the agenda was my own.  Each morning, I would get up early before middle school and high school people even know time exists, and go run on the beach.  This, I believe, was a stirring for me.  

One afternoon, I was sitting on the beach, alone.  The kids were off at the pool and I anchored myself to one place so that they knew where to find me, yet they could have a little freedom to come and go.  I had brought a cooler with me full of water, ice and a peach.  I took the peach out, and bit in deeply.  The peach was cold, and the juices ran down my arm.  In that one simple act, the piercing of the flesh of that fruit the color of a summer sunset, by sitting still and being fully present in my body and in all my senses, I became fully alive.  


I found an article on this topic.  I like Corbett Barr's way of thinking.  Check out 10 Simple Ways to Feel Alive.  I like his list.  Very much.

What makes you feel most alive?