In January of 2023 a friend of mine passed away due to cancer. He had been a mentor to me through college and he had always pointed me to becoming a better man. I got to see him three days before he passed. His last challenge to me was this: “Raul, if you had very little time to tell someone something, what would you tell them? What would you say? Life is too short to waste time. I encourage you to go deep.” 

Three years later I am still haunted by this challenge. What is absolutely important to say to someone? 

If you and I met in person, I don’t know exactly what I would say. All relationships happen so differently. I normally like to listen first and then I respond. I rather listen than talk. I think listening is the most Christ-like thing anyone can do. Jesus always listened before he spoke, at least this is what I see in scripture. But, to my friend’s point, I can waste my whole life listening and never speaking the truth. I can waste my life speaking only fluff. I can waste my life never encouraging anyone. I can waste my life never saying what someone might need to hear. I don’t want to do that. I want to spend my life listening and speaking with intentionality and depth. So, this is my attempt at answering my friend’s challenge: If I had five minutes to tell you something, this is what I would say:

“Hi! My name is Raul. I follow Jesus Christ, and I try to live according to his ways. 

I want to tell you that Jesus loves you. God, the creator of the world made us to love us. If you feel that thing in your heart that says that “there must be something more to this life”, it’s your soul wanting to be united back with its Creator. And the way that God brings us back is through Jesus Christ. God turned himself into a baby, and he grew up as a child, and then as a man he lived among people, and then he was killed, and was buried, but after three days he came back to life, and he walked out of the grave. He did that to show us that he loves us, and that he saves, and that we can have a relationship with him, and that we can have hope in him.  

Jesus saves. The world is broken. The brokenness is easy to see. We need someone to save us and Jesus is the one who saves. Jesus saves us from the things we are truly afraid of: Failure. Anxiety. Shame. Hopelessness. Fear. The feeling of being stuck and having nowhere to go. The feeling of not being good enough. The feeling of being alone. The feeling of not being welcome. The feeling of having nothing to offer to this world. The feeling that everything is broken. Jesus takes all of those away. He saves us from despair and gives us hope. 

Jesus is hope and he is real. I know he is real because he has shown himself to me. When I seek him he shows up. I encourage you to seek him, because when you do you will find him. When you meet Jesus, continue to seek him every day. Walking with him is worth it. In him there is peace and fullness.

In him I have experienced comfort and grace. It’s not always clear, but when it is, it becomes abundantly clear that he is near, and that he truly loves me. And that allows me to love other people. He gives life abundantly. He gives a life that is full. 

I want to tell you that life is meant to be enjoyed! Have fun! Life is more fun when you take risks! Get out of your comfort zone and do something crazy. Crazy doesn’t mean dangerous, but it does mean something that breaks your rules, your routine, your plans, your schedule, your orientation, your bearings, your perspective, and it might mean getting a bit goofy. 

I want to tell you that life is really good. God made everything good. There is so much good in this world. The world is big and it is beautiful. Of course there is much uglyness, but there is also much to enjoy and much good to taste and to see. Find out what you enjoy doing and pursue doing those things, because a good life is found in the pursuit of good things. So, do things that lead you, not to happiness, but to betterment. It really is about what you choose to focus on, so I choose to focus on the good. Life feels good when you look at it good, so change your attitude. 

Yeah, that’s right. You can change your attitude and your actions. You can always change. You always have a choice. At least in the United States we always have choices. Maybe we can’t change EVERYTHING, but we can change something. And that is a great reason to have hope! 

I want to challenge you not to be a bum. The world needs you. We need your strength, your ideas, your effort, your good attitude. You can be the reason that things change for the better. You can be the reason that someone else has a good day. You can be the reason someone is grateful today. People need to be encouraged by you, and that requires that you step up to do what is required of you. Sure, you might not be where you want to be, or have what you want to have, but you are in the middle of your journey. You are on your way to getting those things, so keep going. 

In my opinion, complaining and whining is for losers and for people who have no purpose or direction in life. Complaining is for children and for people who want things to be done for them. And you, my friend, are neither a child nor a loser. So get up, do what is required of you, and do it with joy, because you have the chance to make things better. 

I want to remind you that you are not alone. In the difficult things of your life ask questions and ask for help. Just say that you need help. Look for people who are high quality and you will find them, and when you find them, ask for help. You are not stuck, you are not alone and you are not a loser! 

Jesus says that if you believe in him you are a child of God. What a great thing to say! God is my Father? Absolutely! And I have a direct relationship with him? And he loves me? Yes! And he offers a life that is full? Yes! Life is so much better like this. Therefore, pursue the good and everything will be OK.”

Depth is just one of the tenets I try to live by, and it is a crucial one. This challenge will forever stay with me. I am in the pursuit of becoming a better man, and the words above describe the perspective I currently have on life. It all stems from the person of Jesus Christ, but then it’s up to me to go and live it out. So, I encourage you to go do the same. Go live out the life that you have. Don’t stay on the sidelines scrolling on Instagram wondering what it would be like to truly live. I hope I live my life in a way that reflects all of these things.