A Word to Live Into

I was a radio show host during my college years. The memory of it popped into my mind as I thought about the word engage. We called our show, “The No Name Show”. I guess it was beyond words, or words were beyond us! I joined two communication majors. They knew the technical bits. I was there for fun.

The first thing I learned was the importance of going live. There were no do-overs or edits. When you went live, whatever happened, happened in real time. Going live was important in radio.  To engage with listeners, we had to go live. If we failed to turn on the switch, no one would be able to hear us or the music we played. But once we went live, we had to be ready for whatever happened. Rarely did everything go as planned.

Thinking about those days on the radio reminds me of both how important and how challenging it is to engage. We are all engaging with something. It is essential to engage - to get involved and remain attentive. It is also vital to engage with people and things that contribute to a life lived well. How can we do that?

As we consider the word engage, I will not give you yet another commentary on the woes of social media. But let me challenge you to determine what is occupying your attention. As you go through your day, what are you engaging with? How is what you are engaging with affecting you? Is it leading to good things? Is it leaving you anxious, agitated, or overwhelmed? Is it leaving you encouraged, energized, or renewed? Are you engaging well?

3 things that can help you engage well.

1. Start small. Begin where you are.

Stop

Look

Listen

Smell

Taste

Touch

2. Have realistic expectations.

There is an old fishing proverb - Fish where your feet are.

Go for the fish where you are, rather than wondering about the fish that might be at the other side of the lake.

It is important to acknowledge how hard this is.  It is within our power to know what’s happening on the other side of the lake. If you are like me, you often know more about national or global events than you do about your local news. It can feel like there is a new tragedy every day. There may be one every hour. You cannot engage them all. There are times in our lives when we need to rest and wait. There are times in our lives when we need to act.  Are there fish at your feet? Fish where your feet are. We need to have realistic expectations as we engage with the world. We need to understand where we are and what we can do.

It is also possible that there are not only tragedies but wondrous blessings happening every day. There may be one every hour. Do you see those? Do you hear about those?

3. A Guiding Light.

Back when I was doing the radio show, a light came on whenever we were live. You could see the light from inside and outside the studio. Everyone knew that when the light was on, you couldn't come into the studio. We knew that when the light was on, whatever happened was live. The light was a reminder that it was time to engage.

We need a guiding light as well. We need a guiding vision beyond ourselves if we are going to engage in life well.

Consider Paul’s prayer to the Ephesians: “I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have the power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ.” (Eph 3:17-18)

There is a long line of love!*  I love that image - a long line of love. That line of love was there long before us; it is here now, running right alongside of us, and it is there going on ahead of us. Paul says we can be rooted in Christ’s love. It can be the thing that guides us and sustains us. Imagine a life engaged with the long line of Christ’s love.  Make that your vision. Look for that. Count on that. Engage with that.

How to Live into the word engage…

Consider:

What have I been putting off?

What do I want to do?

Who do I want to connect with?

How do I want to engage with the world?

Consider:

What is my current situation?

What can I do, where I am, at this time in my life?

Where are you feeling led to engage right now?

Read and reflect on Psalm 65.

Some call this a Harvest Song. Think about your own life. Are you planting? Tending the field? Waiting? Preparing to harvest? What can you take away from the psalm?

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* This phrase is used by Tim Keller, Sermon: “The Experience of Hope.” March 28. 2004.