Aspirational Living - Yearning for Something Greater

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"1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth."

Psalm 121:1-2 (NIV)

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As a young boy growing up, I was fascinated by space - the final frontier, and as you can imagine for a kid with an overactive imagination, all I wanted to be when I grew up was an astronaut. In fact, there were many ‘launches’ from the Barker’s back garden between 06 and 09. Amid all this, in 2008 my dreams came true as I watched space shuttle STS-122 launch from Kennedy Space Center. What an awesome experience!

As a child I never gave much thought to the risk the astronauts were facing when they launched however, growing up I began to realise the amount of courage the astronauts had to show to go into the unknown. To give up the relative security of living on Earth, risking it all beyond the realms of control.

Some of you might be wondering what this has to do with ‘aspirational living’?

Let me first begin by what I believe best defines ‘aspirational living’. As Christians we are called to follow Christ and to be like Him in all we do. However, we all know that He was, is, and always will be the perfect standard for Christian living. We were all born sinners, fallen from God, we will never reach perfection however that doesn’t stop Jesus challenging us to strive for it, to yearn for something greater with every ounce of being – that is what aspirational living is all about. Recognising we are flawed but not accepting that as the final outcome. Instead, everyday striving to be more like Him, to be different, to not follow the crowd, to strive for greatness, because He gave His all for us, so why shouldn’t we give our all for Him?

At the start of this journey, I want to stress that life isn’t perfect following Him, actually far from it. The dark days do come, trust me, and it can be hard to find a way out, but remember this “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth”(Psalm 121:2). The creator of the heavens and the earth, the one who holds stars in place, chose you. He wants you. He loves you and when you accept His love, suddenly, you are able to find courage in places you never expected and walk, run, or launch, into the unknown.

Reflect today: what is your Father asking of you? How can you live your life differently today to be more like Christ to the people you meet?

Dear Lord,

Thank you for loving me. Thank you for giving your son to die on the cross so I might live. I can’t do this by myself. Please help me today to be more like you to the people I meet, not bashing them with a bible; even if that is what I would like to do, but giving me the strength to be different that they might notice and come to know you.

Amen