Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus
Tomorrow is Good Friday, the day we remember the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. We’ve talked a lot in recent days about surrendering everything to Jesus and truly making Him the Lord of our lives. Everything we do should be to glorify Him because of what He did for us. In thinking about this post, the old hymn, “Lead Me to Calvary”, kept repeating in my head. As we prepare our hearts for solemn remembrance tomorrow, it seemed good to reflect on the words of this powerful song.
In 2 Timothy 2:4, Paul tells us that “No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in the concerns of civilian life; he seeks to please the recruiter.” Each of us has been recruited by Jesus Himself to serve as soldiers in His army. Our orders are to further His mission and bring about the Kingdom of God here on earth. When we said yes to Jesus, we enlisted in His service for the remainder of our lives. We surrendered our individual wills and desires in deference to the plans and purposes of God. We are no longer our own, for we were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
There’s a certain appeal to abandoning everything for Christ. We’re compelled by the sheer enormity of the task. It can be alluring to so radically go against the flow of society. We will indeed stand out as a very peculiar people. That’s the vision many have when they embark on total surrender. The act is noteworthy and pleasing to God. Our deepest desire is to live our lives in a way that glorifies Jesus. So why do so many who choose to surrender all wind up going back to recover some of it for themselves?
The good news is that God has uniquely created you to do specific work for His Kingdom. The bad news is you probably aren’t doing it. It’s not that you intentionally rebel against Christ or His mission. You simply do not give it enough conscious thought. Have you ever taken the time to sit, think, and discover what role you play in the dance of eternity?
Too many of us float though life, trying to be good and loving people, all the while never making an impact for the Kingdom. What’s your purpose in this life? What are you doing to live out that purpose in a way that glorifies God and furthers His mission?
What are we doing? How much longer are we going to play at this thing called Christianity? We prayed the prayer. We got baptized. We’re good. Is that all there is? Why did Jesus say that one day many would come to Him saying, “Lord, Lord!”, and yet He will send them away because He never knew them (Matthew 7:21-23)? Are we missing something? Surely we know and are blessed by God; how else could we be so content and living such comfortable lives? We have been lulled into a false security and our very lives hang in the balance.