Francis Chan said “People accuse me of going overboard in preparing for my first ten million years in eternity. In my opinion, people go overboard in worrying about their last ten years on earth.” If you’re like me and pretty much every other Christ-follower I know, that statement should feel like a punch in the gut. It should hurt because we know he’s right. We live in such a backwards way, putting our own selfish wants and desires ahead of pursuing the mission God has given to us. While we wring our hands over our 401(k)’s and obsess over how we will spend our retirement, we give precious little thought to preparing to spend eternity with God.
purpose
Praying as Jesus Prayed
When Jesus taught His disciples what we know as “The Lord’s Prayer”, He gave us much more than a simple model prayer. Within these few short verses are the keys to God’s will for each of our lives. If you’ve ever wondered how you should pray, it’s in there. If you’ve ever wondered what God’s will is for your life, it’s in there as well.
Want to know how you should treat others? Jesus articulated it in His prayer. Are you curious about how to have a right relationship with your money? You guessed it, it’s right there in the Lord’s Prayer. It’s a brief passage, so let’s break it down piece by piece.
Suburban Christianity
Part of the fallout from modern Christianity confusing following Christ with pursuing the American dream is the rise of ‘Suburban Christianity’. This is the expression of our faith that is steeped in the illusion of serving others while really hiding behind a veil of safety and selfishness. Having spent the past ten years living in suburbia, I have found myself leaning into this mentality from time to time. We convince ourselves that we are the part of the body that supplies the funds for those working closer to the real problems. I am not disputing there may be some truth in that way of thinking, but at the same time we must be careful to not use that as an excuse to remain sheltered in our safe, comfortable, and predictable worlds.
Live Your Life as Jesus Would Live Your Life
“Jesus teaches you to live your life as He would live your life.” This is a quote from the book, “Flesh: Bringing the Incarnation Down to Earth”, by Hugh Halter. When I read that, I was struck by how at once the statement is so simple, yet the implications are enormous. How would Jesus live my life if He were me? What if, instead of using the miracle of the virgin birth 2,000 years ago, the way God chose to reveal Himself to the world was through my life? How would I live? What would I do? In what ways would my life be different? What if He chose to use your life?
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Reconnect with God
In his new book, “Simplify”, Bill Hybels states that being connected to God reminds him he doesn’t “need to fulfill someone else’s agenda, because I have my hand in the hand of the one whose plans and purposes my life is all about.” It’s easy to get so caught up in the expectations of others that we become overwhelmed, over-committed, and altogether out of control. We lose sight of what matters most in life. The world we live in today is moving faster than ever before. Attention spans are almost nonexistent; patience levels are low, frustrations are high, and the result is a world spinning out of control, plummeting into an abyss of evil that is difficult for us to even comprehend. There is an answer to this madness. There is a way out of the darkness.