Live the Life

Perhaps you have noticed the sticker on the back window of the pickup in front of you at the light. Or maybe one of your kids or grandkids has it emblazoned on the t-shirt they’ve been wearing. You may have been invited to a party by one of your friends and they offered you a koozie with this same logo. Maybe that’s when you stopped and asked, “What is ‘Salt Life’?”

What has become a ubiquitous business logo started out as a saying two of the company founders had tattooed on their necks. It was their way of expressing their love for the ocean and aquatic sports. According to their website, “The four partners of Salt Life are avid ‘watermen’ and extreme surfers, free divers, spear fishermen and blue water fishing experts. All have traveled the globe surfing, fishing and diving in pursuit of the Salt Lifestyle.”

Since its beginning in 2003, the Salt Life merchandise line, which includes T-shirts, hats, visors and—of course—stickers, has grown into a surfing, fishing and diving-wear empire, selling online and in more than 1,000 independent retailers and six regional and national companies, including Bass Pro Shops, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Belk. In 2010 the company signed a licensing agreement with a group of partners in Jacksonville to expand the brand to include a restaurant called “Salt Life Food Shack.”

The people at Salt Life are committed to promoting the lifestyle of an avid beach lover. “Be it surfing, fishing, diving or just enjoying a day at the beach, we all have one thing in common... the ocean and all it has to offer!”

While that is a touching sentiment; as members of a community of faith, we have something much more significant that we share in common: God’s gift of life through his Son, Jesus Christ. As John tells his congregation: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

What’s more, Jesus calls his followers to be salt. We're not supposed to let the world transform us; we are called to transform the world. “Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage” (Matthew 5:13, The Message). So, live a salty, eternal life!

Put to the Test

When most people begin to think about buying anything, one of the first questions they consider is whether their purchase will be a good value. I mean most folks don’t have money to throw around; and money you spend on one thing is money you don’t have to spend on something else.

Everybody likes low prices (well, maybe not that baby that keeps throwing cereal at Jimmy Fallon); but low prices don’t always mean great value. If something breaks soon after you buy it because it is made with inferior materials; even if it has a full replacement guarantee, that’s not a good deal. Most people hope that whatever they are buying is produced with quality.

That’s really what most folks consider when they think about value: that combination of price and quality. Some people focus on the price, while others put more emphasis on the quality. The price is pretty easy to determine. It’s the quality that is more difficult to discern.

For those people who are particularly concerned with the quality of the products they purchase, one of the references they frequently check is Consumer Reports. For over 75 years the staff of Consumer Reports has been testing products to help consumers “distinguish hype from fact and good products from bad ones.”

According to their website, “More than 100 testing experts work in seven major technical departments—appliances, auto test, baby & child, electronics, foods, health & family, and recreation & home improvement, while more than 25 research experts work in three departments—product acquisition, product information, and statistics & quality management.” That is some serious testing, but it is what has made Consumer Reports one of the most trusted independent and impartial sources of information in the world.

While Consumer Reports has made a science out of product testing, it is still difficult to determine the quality of many elements of your life. If you are concerned about the quality of your faith, let me suggest you look carefully at the first few verses of 1 John 5. John seems to outline three simple tests that indicate the quality of a truly victorious life: faith, love, and obedience.  The assurance of a place in God’s kingdom is something you’ll value, no matter what the price.

Fear Not!

Once Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, the hiding began. First they hid themselves from each other; and then when God came to take a stroll through the garden with them that evening, they hid from God. Why were they hiding? Adam says it clearly, “I was afraid.”

While God does send them out of the garden, God shows his continuing love and care for them by making them clothes and giving them a new place to live that has all they need to thrive. God has standards and God expects his children to live by those standards; but when we fail to live up to those standards—even when we knowingly and willfully break God’s standards—God’s love continues.

Consider this: When Adam and Eve’s son, Cain, kills his brother and tries to hide it from everyone, there are consequences; but God doesn’t annihilate him. Cain’s own actions have made it impossible for him to live in community with his family of origin. When Cain says God’s punishment is more than he can bear, God promises to put a mark of protection on him, “so that no one who found him would kill him” (Genesis 4:15).

In spite of this lavish display of grace, throughout the Bible you find people still have to be reassured every time God shows up. When God approaches Abraham to offer him the opportunity to be the father of the covenant people, God’s first words are, “Do not be afraid.” When he appears to Moses and invites him to lead the Israelites out of slavery, God’s first words are, “Do not be afraid.” When Joshua is left with the task of leading the conquest of the Promised Land, God comes to him with the message, “Do not be afraid.”

And it doesn’t stop with the Old Testament. Indeed, as God begins the work of establishing a new covenant; one holy messenger after another begins with “Do not be afraid.” During their last meal together Jesus tells his disciples, “Do not be afraid.”  When the resurrected Jesus meets the women in the garden on Easter morning he tells them, “Do not be afraid.”

When John writes his letter to the church he reminds them that God loves them. Indeed, God loves them so much that God “sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10).  So when you know and rely on the love God has for you and accept the power the Holy Spirit gives you to live a life that is pleasing to God, there is no reason for you to be afraid. 


May we grow to love each other the way God loves us.