What is your idea of the good life? Each person has his own idea about what it means to live the good life.
In the 1880’s James Whitcomb Riley wrote a series of poems about the ideal life. He described it as a life that is humble, safe, carefree, and filled with hope. Riley’s poems depicted a life where dreams were created, promoted, and supported; where the home is happy, problems are few and comforts are freely available even without riches.
The life depicted in these poems became known as the “Life of Riley.” Living the “Life of Riley” became a popular phrase for living the good life. There was even a popular 1950s television show about it called, “The Life of Riley.” Pinning down the meaning of the good life is slippery, but living “The life of Riley” gets pretty close to the definition used by many people.
Living the life of Riley for some means living a life where they are not required to do much, get more, and are protected from loss by various means that may border on the illegal if necessary. Maintaining such a good life becomes their goal and consumes all of their energy, time, and focus. It determines their friends, activities, politics and sometimes, even their religion.
Christ offers us the abundant life, which means more than to just live well, but to live well before God. We want to do His will and to live our life’s purpose. Then and only then can we say we are “living well.”