Waking the Dead: Arm Yourselves

In chapter one of "Waking the Dead," by John Eledredge, we get insight from the author on two topics. The first is the idea of man being alive, and it is based off of a quote by Saint Irenaeus, "The glory of God is man fully alive." The second concept is clarity.
Eldredge speaks about how we often fail to see God because there is so much fog covering our sight of Him in our lives. We often make assumptions when things don't go the way we had hoped or prayed. We assume that either we messed up or God is holding out. Eldredge points out that we need eyes to see what is happening - we need clarity. Without clarity we can't even begin to understand what God is doing.
"The glory of God is man fully alive." This quote gives way to a notion that God gives us life through Jesus Christ, and although we often interpret that to only mean eternal life, Eldredge points out that it means more. Eternal doesn't mean "after life," it means it means "unending," which indicates that this life we are given through Jesus starts now, and is not being held captive until we die.

In my life, I could say that I am crystal clear on the fact I have a bed to sleep in and food to eat every day. Because I am so clear on these things, I feel alive in the sense that I do not have to worry about my personal survival. I can pursue my interests because I know that I am physically sustained every day.
On a deeper note, I can use this analogy to explain how being clear with Christ shapes my life. In times when I am confident that Christ will provide for me and pull through, I am apt to taking bolder moves, such as going on a missions trip, giving to the poor, or sharing my faith with someone. These bold moves make my faith relevant to my life, so I can understand it and feel alive.
When I have doubts or do not see Christ clearly, I shy away from opportunities to feel alive, and this creates a presence of apathy and boredom in my life. My faith is not tested so it slumps, and I wonder where God is.

Extremes in life plans inhibit many people from being fully alive. When I say extremes, I mean to say that they are either so set in their plan that they will let nothing get in the way, or they have no direction at all and are too open to anything. Those that are too set in their goals have a hard time feeling alive because they are always doing what they expect, and life becomes predictable because it is all planned out. Those without direction may not feel alive either because they don't have clear idea of who they are and where they should be.

Someone I respect a great deal is my bible study leader, Matt M. He lives alive because he knows how to find a balance between the extremes. He has ideas for what he wants in a plan, but is open to change and adaptable when things do not go as expected. In this manner, he is an effective leader by keeping engaging others to help in the leadership, while maintaining a sense of order to prevent chaos.