I believe that every true follower of Christ desires to make an impact on their world. It’s in our spiritual DNA; if we love Jesus, we will do what He tells us to do. That means making disciples of other believers, feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and looking after the orphans and widows. As long as we are living out the mission of Christ, it will be our unending passion to impact our world for His glory. The question that we all need to ask ourselves is, “In what way are we making an impact for the Kingdom?”
This is the time of year when I begin solidifying my goals for the next year. As I have grown closer to Christ, my goals have become a lot less about me, and far more about Him. This year, for the first time, I am relating every single goal to a Kingdom purpose. If a goal does not promote the mission of Christ, I toss it because ultimately everything we do should be about obeying Jesus and demonstrating His love to others. The only way we can successfully impact the world for God is to surrender every ounce of our lives to Him and determine that from this point forward, we will work only for His purposes.
This isn’t about being a modern, Western “Christian”. This isn’t saying a prayer and continuing on with life as usual. What this is about is becoming a sellout for Christ. Every move we make, every word we speak, becomes an opportunity to be used for His glory on earth. That is how we will make an impact. Those who work halfheartedly or pursue Jesus part time will never make more than a ripple in the pond. I want to make big splashes for Christ.
But here’s the thing: unless we determine how our lives need to change and make a plan for accomplishing that change, we are destined to repeat history. We have spent most of our life content with making tiny ripples, and unless we intentionally change the things we are doing, we will continue to get exactly what we’ve always gotten. As followers of Jesus, we know that God has a plan for our lives; but guess what? Satan also has a plan for you. Unless we start purposefully committing to a plan of action for the Kingdom of God, we will by default be carrying out the plan of Satan instead. Unless we commit to being for Christ, we will be against Him (Matthew 12:30).
As this year draws to a close, it’s important to begin to determine what you will do differently in the coming months to make an impact for Jesus in your world. This doesn’t have to wait until the New Year, you can start right now. If you mess up by February, you can start again in March, or June, or whenever you decide to stop living out the plan Satan has for you and instead begin impacting the world by living out your mission in the plan of Christ. What do you need to begin doing to change your life? What do you need to stop doing? Now is the time to draw the proverbial line in the sand, stop wasting time and playing with fire, and get serious about your identity in Christ. Plan the change, and change your life. No more weak excuses or meek attempts. Time is running out for you to take a stand. Surrender to Christ, impact your world, and live for His Kingdom. The choice is yours; whose plan will you choose?