How are you building the Kingdom today? I don’t think it’s a question we often ask ourselves. If you happen to be one of those deranged souls like myself who obsess over planning and time management, are you scheduling Kingdom moments into your day? If you are more of the “make it up as you go along” crowd, how often does that translate into making something for the Kingdom? If we’re honest, the truth is despite all we know and our best intentions, we are still squeezing God into the margins of our lives. It’s painful to recognize this is not what the life of a disciple should look like.
I’ve read much on the subject of “making time for God”. The very notion is preposterous to we who desire to live our lives as true disciples of Jesus Christ. We can make time for anything else in life, but not God. God must be our central theme. If our entire lives revolve around Jesus, there can be no concept of “making time” for Him. He must be everything. We are either consumed with Jesus or by the cares of this world. If you’re uncertain as to your own focus, take a look at how you are spending the time that has been allotted to you.
You can’t serve Jesus and the world. Jesus said we would either hate one or the other (Matthew 6:24). Which do we choose to hate, Jesus or the pleasures of Satan? Our entire world is geared to draw our attention away from Christ. We are urged to work more hours in order to succeed, to buy more stuff in order to enjoy life and keep up with the neighbors. Every day we are tempted by lesser things in order that we not focus on He who is greater than all. We all have a plethora of excuses. “God wants me to be happy”, “I have to do this in order to pay the bills”, “It’s not like I’m committing murder here; it’s just a guilty pleasure”. God isn’t interested in our excuses, but He longs for our obedience.
How many more days will we waste pursuing things not of His Kingdom. How much longer will we choose to act in ways that are inconsistent with the life of Jesus? John Wayne once said, “Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes in to us at midnight very clean. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands, and hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.” Each day begins as the perfect canvas in which we can paint a piece of God’s masterpiece. We choose how we will spend the next 24 hours. We decide whether or not this day will be spent for Him or on ourselves. It’s up to us.
We need to stop making time for God and begin instead to live intentionally for Him. We need to make Him the central theme of our life. Everything we do should flow from His desires and out of our love for Him. We must put away our selfish desires and get our priorities straight. He is worthy. He is everything. It’s time we started living like we actually believed that.
What’s keeping you from making God the number one priority in your life? What is your biggest obstacle to living the life you want to live for Him? You can join the conversation by leaving a comment below.