YOLO

During my senior year of high school, an acronym was made popular by a Canadian rapper named Drake. I will be the first to tell you that I am not the biggest fan of Drake or his music, but I was aware that he had my friends in high school running around saying "YOLO" all the time. For those that remember, don't know, or were slow to know like I was, YOLO is an acronym for "You Only Live Once." Some say it's the modern version of the Latin phrase "carpe diem" which means "seize the day." The idea behind YOLO is to live life to the fullest, even if it means doing things that involve some risk. As an example, a friend might encourage you to drive faster than the speed limit. You respond, "That's dangerous!" Your friend responds, "YOLO." Maybe your friends want you to go to a party that involves some "questionable behavior" and you don't feel comfortable. If you say this out loud, you may get a response of "YOLO." For some people, YOLO is not just an acronym, it's a lifestyle. Why play it safe all the time when we can live life on the edge? YOLO inherently implies that we can afford to take risks without considering the future because our lives only matter once. Is this really true?

The often referenced (in my devotionals) Apostle Paul explains in Hebrews Chapter 9 how the blood of Christ helped to establish the new covenant. Paul makes it clear that Christ did not have to die for us over and over, He only had to do it once. Hebrews 9:26-28 says, "Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him."

Hebrews tells us that just as we are destined to die once (YODO?), Christ died for our sins once. However, that's not the end of the story. We know that Christ will appear again to save us from our sin and provide "salvation to those who are waiting for him." While it may appear that we only live once, we belong to God twice. First when we are created (by God) and second when we are redeemed (by Christ). I believe God wants His people to live a life that honors His creation and acknowledges a need for salvation. We can't afford to play it safe when it comes to our relationship with Christ. If Drake had it right, live life on the edge by seeing YOLO in a different light. We may only live once, but we are important enough to God to belong to Him twice.

​-Jacob

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