No matter who we are or what we do, our primary mission in life is to leverage everything we have to further the Kingdom of God. What this means is none of have any excuse for not serving God in every area of our lives. For too long we’ve made a distinction between those “in the ministry” and those who have traditional or secular jobs.
In our family life, we look to others to give us spiritual direction while shirking our own responsibilities in that area. How we live our lives at work and at home will be a direct expression of where our hearts are in relation to our Creator. With that in mind, how well are you reflecting Christ? How are you leveraging your relationship with Him to further His kingdom?
When we take time to think through how we are building His Kingdom at our place of work and in our homes, we often find a significant disconnect. As a people, we tend to over-compartmentalize our lives into convenient boxes and forget Jesus is Lord over all of them. Every area of our life must be leveraged for His glory. It is our purpose and our mission. It also brings clarity to the question of what God’s will is for us. God’s will for your life is not dependent on your job or career. It isn’t found in what you do in life, but rather in why and how you live your life.
I’ve talked to many who agree with me in principle but struggle with applying it practically in their own lives. One key thing to keep in mind is every interaction is an opportunity to be Jesus to the other person. The way you care for and value a person either reflects the heart of Christ or puts your self-centeredness on display. We should all live in a way that people take note of how we behave differently than everyone else. We are a people called out from the masses to do the work of God (1 Peter 2:9). Unfortunately our default behavior seems to be to go with the flow rather than to stand out.
At home, our responsibility is the same: reflect Jesus and lead others to Him. This is the hardest part for me. For some reason I find it much easier to reflect Jesus among non-family members than family members. Perhaps it’s because I recognize the love of family and can count on being given some grace to overcome my shortcomings. Perhaps it’s the same for you. But our responsibility to our family is at least as important, if not more so, than to everyone else (1 Timothy 5:8; Isaiah 58:6-7). Our mission must be to prepare every member of our household to spend eternity with Jesus and to build His Kingdom as long as we have breath.
I’ll say it once more: as followers of Christ, it is our duty to leverage every aspect of our lives for His Kingdom and His glory. This is God’s will for my life and for yours. It’s not for a select few, but for every disciple. Don’t leave what is your responsibility to others. Reflect Jesus in every interaction. Be humble. Be selfless. Love others. Leverage your life – all of it – to glorify Jesus and to build His Kingdom.