What Does It Mean to Be “Fully Alive”?
Editor’s Note: This piece is a written version of the talk Daniel Ryan Day shared at our first online event, ‘Becoming Fully Alive’. To watch the recording of his talk on our YouTube channel, click here.
Written by Daniel Ryan Day, USA
Throughout life, things change.
Seriously, though. People have said this in many ways: change is inevitable. To exist is to change. The only thing permanent in our lives is change.
Now, some people are really good at noticing shifts in culture and how those shifts impact them. But for many of us, we’re busy and don’t have time to pause and think about how we’ve been shaped by the subtle—and sometimes not so subtle—transformations that have occurred in the world. And sometimes, those changes impact us more than we realise.
So let’s consider some things that have changed, and think about how those changes have made it harder to be present in the here and now, harder to sense God’s presence in our lives, and have increased our stress, anxiety, and inner restlessness.
We’ll also look at a story from the Bible that occurs in the midst of a busy marketplace, (which feels like an appropriate metaphor for our lives, doesn’t it?), and within that story, we’ll hear some really good news about what it means to become fully alive; to be fully present in the present moment with God, so we can experience His peace, love, and rest right now.
What’s Changed?
In 1994, the first smartphone was invented called the IBM Simon. It came with email, calendar, and fax functions. How has it shaped us? Well, for the first time, humans felt pressure to be instantly and constantly available, and we started feeling anxious when we couldn’t be instantly available.
Three years after the invention of IBM Simon, the first social media platform was created called Six Degrees. And then, in 2000, the site “am-I-hot-or-not-dot-com” was invented. Users could submit photos of themselves, and other people rated them on attractiveness (doesn’t that sound fun?!). How has that shaped us? Suddenly, we experienced an increased level of insecurity as we thought about how we look and present ourselves online.
The following year was when 9/11 took place in the US, and the global war on terror began, which made the world feel smaller and less safe. In 2013 there was the Ebola outbreak, and the bird flu outbreak. And in 2020, a global pandemic. How did they impact us? We experienced a stressful mixture of fear and isolation at the same time. We were also taught to be suspicious of our neighbours, and fear and insecurity in almost every area of life was tangible.
And these events continue to impact us: after the pandemic, we are in a new pandemic of sorts; a pandemic of mental health crises around the world. Which is why I’m so thankful for the ministry of Anxious Faith that is helping people explore the connection—and sometimes dissonance—between mental health and faith.
During these global events, there have been increasing conversations and debates in the church and culture about reparations for native peoples, the roles of women, climate change, the LGBTQ+ community, global poverty, and racial injustice.
How have these conversations shaped us? Many of us feel caught between what culture says, church leaders say, the Bible says, and the perspectives of family members or friends, especially between generations. Many of us struggle to know what we believe about these things, and for some of us, our faith has been challenged and perhaps shaken by these hard questions.
On top of all of that, we’re busier than ever. If the statistics are right, we spend between 8-9 hours a day on our devices — outside of work or school. This busyness and distraction makes it more difficult to be creative, solve problems, and build real community and friendships. Many of us struggle to have boundaries with our devices; we know it would be better to use them less, but we’re worried that if we stop using them, we’ll be even more disconnected and lonely.
And when you add up all of these things together? We end up in a place that Ruth Haley Barton calls “dangerously tired”.
Dangerously Tired
The first time I heard Ruth describe the concept of being dangerously tired, I was at a spiritual retreat she was leading. I was there because I felt completely burned out on life. I was overwhelmed, tired, anxious, and ready to quit on just about everything. At night, my dreams fluctuated between moments of intense anger or dreams of having panic attacks. All of those circumstances led me to my first retreat with Ruth.
On the first night of the retreat she listed the symptoms of being dangerously tired, and I wrote down every single one. She gave me words for the absolute exhaustion and desperation I felt. And over time, I’ve discovered that quite a few of us limp through our lives this way.
All of those changes I mentioned can lead some of us (ahem, me) to feel a disconnect between faith and real-life. Today’s world is so different from the world of the Bible. The Bible doesn’t talk specifically about social media, or smartphones, or political elections. So how do we follow God today when things are so different? Does our faith have anything helpful to say about the world we live in? What does it mean to be a Christian in this modern world? There’s a particular story in the Bible that might help.
Paul and the Athenians
In Acts 17, there’s a guy named Paul who ends up in a very influential foreign city away from his friends. He’s there because, in the last two cities he went to, things did not go well. After hearing him preach, some religious leaders and “rabble-rousers”—my translation calls them ‘ruffians’—caused a riot, and Paul barely escaped with his life. But he alone escaped. His friends were still stuck in the previous city, and Paul was alone in Athens.
Already, we can see some parallels between this story and our world today; there’s a presence of fear, isolation, riots, debates over the Bible and spirituality and confusion. Paul’s world was starting to feel really small, and bad stuff keeps following him from city to city.
So Paul ends up in Athens, and he’s angry. He’s angry because Athens is FULL of idols, and his anger seems to be constructive. Anger isn’t wrong. It can even be helpful when it’s used the right way. I’ve heard that a good way to figure out your specific calling in life is to notice what makes you angry, and do something about it. This is what Paul does.
Let’s paint the picture: this is old Athens. People wearing big robes, with a simple belt and armholes on the sides. Perhaps you’ve seen an old painting of the Parthenon. Paul is in the marketplace. Here’s where we imagine the sounds of goats, sheep, and chickens. The academics of the day—the philosophers and thinkers—begin to do what philosophers and thinkers do. They begin to debate with him. They ask questions. He responds. They make statements. He responds. He asks questions. You can see it and hear it, can’t you? (Sounds a bit like a family gathering!)
Paul the “Babbler”
Some people completely miss what Paul is saying. He’s talking about the resurrection and Jesus, and in Acts 17:18 it says, “Some of them asked, ‘What is this babbler trying to say?’” The word “babbler” is kind of funny. It literally means “a bird picking up seeds”. It was originally applied to people who, like the birds, pick up stuff in the marketplace. Specifically, people who collect and sell junk. A trinket-dealer. Picture that relative you have who’s always going to garage sales or flea markets or perusing the free section on Facebook Marketplace.
The term “babbler” then becomes slang or a cliché in the ancient world for someone who doesn’t pick up junk or trinkets, but someone who picks up junk facts or random bits of information and then passes them off as their own. Someone who’s always quoting someone else, and not adding to a conversation. Someone who never has an original thought.
For us today, it might be that friend we have who is always quoting a movie, or a comedian, or fill-in-the-blank. Or perhaps a friend who knows the most random facts, but nothing that’s actually helpful to your life. They are a chatterer, a babbler, a showoff with knowledge that doesn’t help anyone. So some academics hear Paul talking about Jesus and the resurrection, and they insult his intelligence by calling him a trinket dealer of junk facts that he doesn’t understand. Ouch.
Now, others in the crowd hear Paul and suggest something quite different and more sinister. They say he’s advocating for foreign gods. The term used here for advocate is reminiscent of the trial of Socrates, a Greek philosopher. In 399 BC, Socrates was executed by the court for being disrespectful to the gods in Athens and corrupting the youth.
So for people to say this about Paul—to say that he’s dishonouring Athenian gods—is a serious accusation. And it makes sense that he’s then invited to the Aeropogus (the court) and the leaders ask him in verses 19-20, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” That’s a good way to respond to something we don’t understand — ask good questions and then listen with an open mind as someone explains themselves.
Paul responds by saying, “‘People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you’” (Acts 17:22-23).”
A God For Everything
Now, before we judge the Athenians for having all of these idols, remember why these idols exist. In the ancient world, there were no weather apps, or dating apps, or grocery stores or satellites. Weather, love, food, and war were all mysterious forces and made humans feel even more vulnerable than we do today. The gods were seen as being responsible for everything that happened that people couldn’t control.
They needed the sun to grow grain, so they worshipped the sun as a god. They found themselves caught up in wars, so they worshipped the god of war so they would win. They fell in love, so they worshipped the god of love. They believed that if they didn’t worship these gods, these invisible forces, then the sun may scorch their plants. They may lose a war and be destroyed. The ocean may destroy their ships. They may never end up married. ‘Keep the gods happy, so you can be happy’ was their motto.
I wish we could say we’ve outgrown this. But how many of us feel like we need to keep God happy? We work so hard to do the right things, say the right things, and go to church so God will bless us. And when things are going well, and other people aren’t annoying us, and we have enough money, we feel God is happy with us! But when we get sick, or stressed, or overwhelmed, we wonder why God has hidden His face from us. We have a lot in common with the people of Athens.
So the Athenians are covering all of their bases. They want to keep all of the gods happy so they can experience full and abundant life — even the potential “unknown” gods they haven’t met yet. Now, what would we expect of Paul here, especially considering his anger? To debate the merits of the one true God over all the other gods? Perhaps to explain to the Athenians why all of the other gods aren’t true? No! He tells them, Great news! I know the God you call ‘the unknown God’ (paraphrased from Acts 17:23)
The ‘Unknown God’
Paul meets them where they are, and suggests that God has been at work in their midst the whole time. And here’s how Paul describes God in verses 24-28:
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’”
There are so many amazing parts of this little speech. First, Paul says God doesn’t live in a temple made by human hands because He’s too big for that. He’s the Creator who holds all things together. He doesn’t fit in a building! Remember, at this moment, Paul is surrounded by temples made with human hands. This is a revolutionary statement. None of these temples here can contain the ‘Unknown God’, who is known instead through His creation.
I grew up in a small town in the States where we had a road named “Church Street”. It was called that because, well, it had lots of churches on it. At one intersection, you can see four churches all across from one another. It’s as if Paul is standing on an intersection like that saying, “God doesn’t live in churches made by human hands. He can’t fit in any one of these. He’s too big.” The Psalmist puts it this way in Psalm 145:3, saying: “Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom.” God doesn’t fit in a building.
God Doesn’t Need Us
And then, Paul takes it a step further: God doesn’t need anything from you. This is revolutionary, too. The understanding of the gods was that humans were created to serve the gods. They were slaves to do whatever the gods needed; they had to keep the gods happy in order to have a good life. But Paul says this God—who doesn’t fit in a building—also doesn’t need our help. He doesn’t need us to serve Him. He can accomplish His work, in His way, in His timing, whether we are on board or not.
It doesn’t mean that God doesn’t invite us into His work or call us into service, but it means He doesn’t need us. This would have been so freeing to those who believed what Paul was saying. God doesn’t need you, and his blessings are not dependent on your performance. And the bad things that happened to you? That’s not God trying to get back at you.
We need to hear this ourselves, don’t we? When we mess up, we might expect God to squash us. And when we really need something, we try to be on our best behaviour and pray, read the Bible and go to church. Paul’s freeing words for the Athenians are freeing words for us, too. God’s love isn’t dependent on what you do, how good your worship is, whether or not you spend time with Him, or on you always do the right thing.
It gets even better. Not only does God not fit into our buildings, and not only is God’s love not dependent on our performance, but the reason God made us—the reason He breathed life and breath into our bodies and into everything else—is so that we would seek Him, reach out for Him and find Him, because He’s not far from any of us.
God’s Not Far From Us
We need to hear that God is not far from any of us. Growing up in the church, I often heard things like, “When you sin and run away from God, you’re separated from God and need to repent so God can come close to you again.” But this isn’t the good news that Paul is describing here, nor is it in line with the rest of the biblical story.
The Bible says instead:
God will never leave you nor forsake you. (Deuteronomy 31:8)
God demonstrates His love for you in this; while you were yet a sinner, Christ died for you. (Romans 5:8)
Nothing can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:38-39)
And here in Acts, Paul is talking to people who don’t even believe in Jesus yet, and what does he say? “[God] is not far from any one of us” (Acts 17:27).
And that means that despite all the things we talked about at the beginning; all of the stresses, struggles, and questions, the anxiety, stress, busyness, and sense of being overwhelmed… God is not far from any one of us. Paul makes it even more clear in his next line: “For in him we live and move and have our being” (v28).
This is surprising for a few reasons. First, because Paul is quoting a secular Cretan philosopher and poet named Epimenides, who’s words end up in the Bible and are now considered Scripture. Today, it would be like a line from the Beatles ending up in the Bible.
And this quote doesn’t say: “In God we worship, and go to church, and read our Bible and pray.” Paul doesn’t say, “Go find God by going to church, or attending a conference, or participating in a prayer gathering.” Can we find God in those places? Of course. Is it important for us to go to church and read the Bible and pray? Absolutely! But God doesn't ask us to step out of our lives to meet with Him, or to fix ourselves up on our own. He invites us to live life with Him. In Him we live!
In Him We Live and Move
In Him we go about our days. In Him we do the things we need to do. We love. We work. We parent. We befriend. We write. We sing. We play games. We go to church. We exercise. We read our Bibles.
In another letter to the Colossians, Paul says it slightly differently: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17).
Eugene Peterson puts it this way in the Message translation: “Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way.”
Irenaeus of Smyrna, a Greek leader in the church who lived about 60 years after Paul, put it this way: “The glory of God is a living man.” Or, in more modern language, “The glory of God is a human fully alive.”
Every moment of every day is an invitation into a deeper relationship with God. For us right now, it’s reading the Scriptures together. But when you’re done reading? God is with you, and inviting you into a deeper relationship. When you lay down to rest? The Scriptures say He gives rest to His beloved (Psalm 127:2). When you talk to others? Go to work or school? Go shopping? Watch a footy match? Read a book? His invitation is there.
Even when we sin. Even when we do that thing we’re so ashamed of. God is not far off, but right there with us, inviting us to find forgiveness and grace and step into a deeper relationship with Him.
In Him we live. In Him we move.
In Him We Have Our Being
And then Paul says, “in him we have our being”.
This is perhaps the best news, because there’s nothing we “do” for this one. The word being simply means “to exist” or “to be present”.
Parents need to hear this when you’re frustrated with yourself because your kids seem to “get in the way” of your quiet times.
Students need to hear this when you study late and sleep through your alarm, and you feel like you’ve “failed God” because you missed your morning devotions.
Business people need to hear this when you feel like working for a ministry would be more important than the spreadsheets or marketing plans you’re working on.
Teachers and fire-fighters and police-officers and nurses need to hear this when you’re so tired you can’t keep your eyes open long enough to read the Bible.
God is not far off. He’s right there with you when you’re feeding a baby, or studying, or cleaning up a mess, or being faithful in your “secular” job, or wishing you had more time to spend with Him. Paul would say that it’s not about doing more or believing more or spending more time with God.
Just by being you, in the life you’re in, Paul says even that can be walking with God. In Him we live, in Him we move, and in Him we have our being. What Paul was saying is that, far from escaping this body as the way to be close to God and glorify Him, it’s through living in this very body that we glorify God and draw close to Him.
Becoming “Fully Alive”
That’s what it means to be fully alive. To realise that on your best day or your worst day, your okay days or your ‘blah’ days, God is inviting you into a deeper relationship. He’s not asking you to act like a bad day is a good day, or to shape up and be better, He’s just asking you to live life with Him, because He’s living life with you. He’s not asking you to step out of your life to meet with Him, but to discover that He’s already there in the midst of your everyday life.
When you’re driving on the Great Ocean Road or you’re stuck in city traffic? God is with you in the beauty and in the frustration. When your footy team gets to the top of the ladder, or you eat the perfect meat-pie? God is with you as you taste and see that He’s good. When you’re stuck in a job that feels far removed from your dream-job or calling? God is with you and proud of you for your faithfulness in your daily work. When life falls apart, you have no money, and someone breaks your heart? God is with you to comfort you and bring you peace that won’t make sense based on the circumstances.
That’s what it means to be fully alive; to be fully present in the here and now with God, so we can experience His peace, love, and rest.
In Him we live. In Him we move. And in Him we have our being.
Daniel Ryan Day is a co-host of the podcast Discover The Word. He’s authored Ten Days Without, a book that raises awareness for social needs around the world, and What’s Next, which offers hope and practical wisdom for readers who are struggling to figure out their next step in their education, career, or ministry.
He holds a Master’s Degree in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, has completed the Transforming Center Spiritual Formation program, and is the Senior Director of Reclaim Today and New Audience Engagement for Our Daily Bread Ministries.
He's married to his high school sweetheart, Rebecca, and they have three kiddos. His perfect day includes boiling maple sap into syrup or tending his deep-pit BBQ smoker.
