Lent, day 23: Living Vicariously

What does it mean to live vicariously? By strict definition a vicarious experience is one that is performed, exercised, received, or suffered in place of another. That's the first definition. The one we most commonly use is this one:

An experience that is felt or enjoyed through imagined participation in the experience of others.

And in that regard...it's a very bad thing! I want to live my own  life. I want my own adventures, experiences, joys and tragedies (Lord, can it be low on tragedies?). The idea of getting my thrills from the sidelines of life is wholly unacceptable. At vocabulary.com it says:

If you're living vicariously, stop it. Get out and live life for yourself.

Clearly, living vicariously is for losers. But yet, I know I live vicariously in tons of ways. All of us do. It's why you can't listen to love songs when you're heart-broken; because the music is pulling you into an experience that you no longer actually have. It's why we stay up until 2:00 a.m. reading novels.

Living vicariously is why we get so caught up in sporting events. When Notre Dame lost to USC in 2005 (the "Reggie Bush Push") I was there! And it felt like the worst day of my life. I cried the whole way home from the football field. I only went to ND for one year, and I don't really fancy myself a football fan (I often am left wondering what those little yellow flags mean), but on that day...I felt as let down as one of the players.

The full reading today is 1 John 4:7-21 (still in 1 John!!!). However, I'm only going to focus on a snippet of that, which stood out to me.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4:7-11

I would never use this phrasing prior to today, but there are a lot of vicarious things taking place in scripture. Quick breakdown: 

Point # 1 - We all died vicariously through Christ

People always say that Jesus Christ died for our sins. And this is true. But the truth is, you died vicariously for your sins through Jesus.  He suffered in your place. Once someone pays for a crime...it's over. You committed a crime, and Jesus paid the price.  And instead of paying our own bill, we vicariously pay for that crime and everything that comes with it: 

• Death - We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.- Romans 6:6
• Burial - We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.  - Romans 6:4

Paul is talking to people saying "we were crucified" and "we were buried." Those things (at this point) had only happened to one man. But vicariously it had happened to everyone. 

Point # 2 - Now we're supposed to live vicariously through Christ

So if we died with Him, we must also rise with Him. It is only through Christ that we can experience the Resurrection, and it's not something that we do on our own. We have to get up by the same power that Christ got up. By the power of God.  

• Resurrection - Even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus - Ephesians 2:5-6

 That sounds all fine and dandy, but every one that John was writing to knew at least this much. That's the gospel message. They are really hype on that point. But there are two definitions of "live." 

Live - to be alive

Live - to pass through life in a specified manner

Dr. Frankenstein says to the Monster: "LIVE!!!" and he means "Get up. Be alive." He never quite tacks on "LIVE...happily," or "LIVE...righteously," or "LIVE...lovingly." 

John is addressing people who think that they stopped living vicariously at the point of resurrection. No, there are some tack-ons. The major one is: LOVE. 

So, what does it look like to live vicariously through Christ's love?  

Well "through" implies that this is through Christ's effort not our own, so it's the supernatural fruit of the spirit love. So, odds are, you'll go around hating people until God's fruit is produced in you. But here's the thing: It will be produced! The one who does not love does not know God...yet. 

So in the spiritual since, if you're not living vicariously, stop it. Get on your knees and ask God to help you stop living that hateful life! And start seeking to live and to love vicariously through Jesus.