Outlive Your Life

Many of you have either seen or heard me discuss something called “The Lazarus Within.” It was the title topic of a previous blog post (read it here: The Lazarus Within), and has also been the focus of many of my speaking events.

Why? Why so much time dedicated to this one concept?

Well, for one, I believe it is the single most important piece of advice I can offer a fellow griever – the idea that our ability to perpetually choose hope, joy, and life, even in the imminent face of death, is what will ultimately enable us to rise from the ashes and live again.

And secondly, it’s somewhat controversial.

It’s counterintuitive. Countercultural. Irrational in almost every way.

But it’s crucial. And as such, I want to use this post to provide some much-needed clarity.

I spent considerable time, both in previous blog posts and in the book, detailing how Kailen harnessed the Lazarus Within. She was the best I’ve ever seen and likely will ever see; her courageous resilience was nothing short of miraculous.

Yet, I know some of you are wondering (and rightfully so) how I can promulgate a theory that suggests our choices have the power to save our life.

After all, it didn’t save Kailen’s.

It’s okay, you can say it. It’s true.

Kailen died and has been in the physical presence of Christ for almost 3 years. She is no longer here, completely and verifiably gone; all that remains is the roaring presence of her absence.

Trust me. I know.

I feel it with every inhalation, every sunrise, every shuddering beat of my heart.

So, if this whole Lazarus Within thing can help us rise from the ashes and live again, why didn’t Kailen, who exemplified the Lazarus Within with near-perfection, rise from the ashes? Why didn’t she live again? Why is she gone?

These are all reasonable questions. And you have every right to ask them.

In fact, you should ask them. The road to healing is full of hard questions and painful realities; we must face them as we face the dawn – with resolve and expectation.

Yes, Kailen died. I concede the fact.

But that fact, nor any other, can debunk the Lazarus Within. In all actuality, it lends evidential credence to the theory.

How, you wonder? Allow me to return your question with a few of my own:

After being absent from the earth for nearly 3 years, how is Kailen still changing the world? How is she still reaching hurting hearts with a message of hope and encouragement? How is she still affirming the broken that they are not alone in their agony? How is she still permanently altering the course of eternity?

While Kailen’s uncanny and indomitable ability to choose hope, joy, and life didn’t ultimately save her life, it imbued her life with meaning and value and purpose.

And those things – her purpose, her influence, her impact – they live on forever.

You see, the Lazarus Within is not some miraculous form of chemotherapy; it didn’t heal the cancer (though I do believe it considerably prolonged Kailen’s life expectancy). It didn’t result in the sudden arrival of a cure. No, the disease ran its course, and after what can only be described as a Herculean battle, she left hospital room number 583 and entered Heaven.

The Lazarus Within didn’t save Kailen’s life.

It did something far more.

It allowed her to outlive her life.

Her purpose, her influence, and her impact outlasted her heartbeat. Because of the courageous choices she made in the torturous trenches of her suffering, Kailen will continue to change the world, to irrevocably alter the course of humanity.

Because she chose the Lazarus Within herself, eternity will never be the same.

For most of us, our life outlives us. Our influence and impact die long before our bodies, and at that precise moment, though still physically alive, we are far more dead than Kailen will ever be.

Let me encourage you, my friends – there is a better way.

You will die someday. The current mortality rate is right around 100%. But today, this  very day, you can choose to outlive your life. No matter what you’re facing, choose hope, joy, and life.

You owe it to the rest of us. To all of humanity. To eternity.

And most of all, you owe it to yourself.

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