“Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I’ve got ahold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” – George Bernard Shaw
I first read this quote in Bob Buford’s book “Halftime.” Buford raises the all-important question: What are you doing with your life? More specifically, what will you do with the second half of life — should the good Lord give you a full four quarters?
Will you go through life carrying a candle or a torch? Will you flicker or beam brightly? Will you put off just enough light to crack the darkness or chase the darkness or away?
Eleven years ago I decided to be a torch. Rather, God called me to be a torch. Through a season of searching and prayer, God placed three things on my heart that were to be my life’s narrative from that point forward: start new churches, reach my generation for Jesus, and train the next generation of church leaders.
That torch has lit the way for tremendous change in my life. At times it has felt too hot to handle. Torches are like that.
Yet, in the words of Neil Young, “it’s better to burn out than it is to rust.”
I don’t want rust. I want my torch to “burn as brightly as possible.”
How about you? Candle or torch?