Is your life flourishing? Strange question? Not really, as it is a question all of us should contemplate.

In thinking about what it means to flourish, one might consider a plant or a garden: Is it growing? Is it blooming? Is it producing fruit?

Jesus tells us, in John 10:10, "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."

The impact of our life should be ever increasing. How does that happen when you get old, lose energy, and have fewer opportunities?

There is a story of two men in Luke 18:10-14. One of the men had a life full of religious activity; he was a Pharisee. The other man was looked down on by most people; he was a tax collector.

Both of these men went to the temple to pray (v. 10), so they were both God-seekers. If you did not know either man, you would think both of them might have vibrant and full lives.

As the Pharisee opens his mouth and begins to pray, we catch a glimpse of his heart. He had a high opinion of himself. He said, "God, I thank you that I am not like other men" (v. 11). He was an elitist filled with pride. He had concluded, for whatever reasons, that he was a superior being to other men.

He was judgmental. He specifically compared himself to "robbers, evildoers, and adulterers," and then he pointed to the tax collector and claimed that he was better than his fellow God-seeker. In addition to being proud and judgmental, he continued displaying his insecurity by touting his practices of tithing and fasting.

If we gauged his life by his words, we would conclude that he was not flourishing; that is, he was not impacting any other person in a positive way. Jesus called this kind of person a hypocrite—he looked good, he did some good things, but his pride and self-righteousness negated his religious activity.

The other man, the tax collector, had a totally different demeanor. Verse 13 tells us, "[He] stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven." His prayer was simple and direct as he beat on his chest: "God, have mercy on me, a sinner."

Whose life was flourishing? Who would you want to talk to if you were struggling in some situation? Certainly we would not go to the self-righteous man who would likely condemn us if we opened up and were honest. We would want to talk to the tax collector. He could identify with us.

Jesus appraised both of these men in their approach to life and to God. He said, "I tell you that this man [the tax collector], rather than the other, went home justified before God" (v. 14). Jesus continued, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

The exaltation that comes to the humble is the grace of God ministered by the Holy Spirit of God. A flourishing life is a life that is overflowing with the fruit of the Holy Spirit as outlined in Galatians 5:22-23: "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."

That is the template for flourishing. We can put that template against our lives and quickly know whether we are flourishing or not. Are you flourishing?