Instructing and encouraging you to live your life as a disciple of Jesus
To help unify my goals for the upcoming year, I find it helpful to have a theme. In this way I can tie all my activities to a unified purpose. For next year I keep coming back to the idea of “Consume less, contribute more”. I wanted to share this with you, because as I pray through my ideas and plans, I find this theme has great potential for all who claim Christ as our Lord. What would it look like in your life if you were to consume less and contribute more?
Each of us wants to be successful; we all want to win. There is an innate drive inside of us that compels us to compete and prove we are the best. Being the best means we are successful. If we drive the right car, live in the right neighborhood or have the right job, we consider it proof that we are winning and have become successful. For all those I know who have found themselves driving that car or living in that neighborhood, the vast majority are not entirely happy. If that’s all there is to their life, then a sense of emptiness remains; they lack a sense of purpose and fulfillment. Rabbi Harold Kushner once said, “The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and share. When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you have brought to other people’s lives than you will from the times that you outdid and defeated them.
Life is more than keeping score, and this is especially true for followers of Christ. Our goal should not be to outdo someone else, but rather to out-love and out-serve everyone. Our heart’s desire must be to live a life that looks like that of Jesus. If we concern ourselves only with that, we will find our lives are far richer and more fulfilled than if we had achieved material success beyond measure. We are spiritual beings at our core, and spirit cannot be soothed or satisfied with the physical. Beyond what it does for us emotionally, anything we can touch, taste, smell, or hear will never fully quench the longing we have inside. It is only through spiritual communication with God and sharing His love with others that we will find peace and contentment. Nothing satisfies except Jesus.
It is incredibly easy to get caught up in the ways of our culture, but we are called out of a life of normalcy to live as strangers in this world. We are set apart to be different. If we chase after the things that society dictates we must have, then we are worshipping the material rather than the spiritual, and we are not following Jesus. Christ never cared for temporal possessions. He warned His followers that they would have no place to call home and sent them out into the world virtually empty handed (Luke 9:57-58; Luke 9:1-6). The reality was that while they may not have had anything they could physically hold, they were filled beyond measure because the spirit of God was within them.
True success is measured by how closely we are following Jesus. It is determined by our resemblance to Christ and by doing the things He told us to do. If we are continuing His mission on earth, then we are indeed successful. While it may not look like it to your friends, you know the peace and comfort that is within. You can’t put a price tag on the feeling that comes from being fully surrendered to Jesus. In the midst of the worst of troubles, He provides calm and courage. In the darkest night, He provides rest and comfort. Nothing is impossible through Jesus; nothing can stop us when we are truly following Him. There is no greater power than the power of God, and this power lives within you. You can keep your cars and your fancy neighborhoods. You can keep your physical power and influence. I have found all I need in the person of Jesus Christ. He is the true power, and true success is found only in service to Him.
On a day to day basis, how often are you focused on clearly living a life that reflects Jesus? Do you consistently weigh your words and measure your actions by the character of Christ? When you lie down at night reflecting on your day, do you see a life that looks like Jesus? Our daily activities speak volumes about our heart. We profess to love Christ and swear He is our Lord, but we lead unremarkable lives that bear a far greater resemblance to the societal norm than to the holiness of God; there is a disconnect between our words and our actions that we must discover and overcome.
In my own life, I am sick of the hypocrisy that is my walk. Like the apostle Paul, I do the things I don’t want to do while the things I want to do get left undone (Romans 7:15, 19). It doesn’t matter whether we commit what are perceived to be small sins or large sins; any time spent engaged in activity not honoring Christ is time we are wasting. Time is not redeemable; we have what we have and then it is gone. Every wasted moment vanishes forever and we find ourselves one breath closer to death. It is urgent and imperative that we focus every second of our lives on Christ. Every day must be viewed as a new opportunity to reflect His love to others, while every night should be cherished as a time to bask in His presence and peace. Our time grows ever shorter and there are so many who still have never heard.
One life – yours or mine – can make a significant difference in our world. We never know what effect a simple act of kindness or a gentle word will have. You might bring hope to the one who will go on to discover a cure for cancer or to someone who will simply “pay it forward” and offer help to one who is homeless. We never know what God will do with one seemingly insignificant act on our part. Never pass up an opportunity to share some kindness; remember to always reflect the love of Christ in every moment of your day.
The effort required to fully seize each moment is not trivial; it requires discipline and focus. We may never perfectly achieve the goal, but every second that we grasp for the glory of God is one more second than we had previously embraced. Moment by moment we develop a life that looks like Jesus and reflects His love and glory to those around us. The world does not need more lip service Christians; the world needs followers of Jesus who are willing to devote their lives to loving God and serving others. Imagine the impact on the nations if only those who profess Jesus as their Savior would engage their world as a disciple of Christ. Poverty would be eradicated, crime rates would plummet and homelessness would become a thing of the past. Racial tensions would fade into history, and justice would reign across the planet. That this is not happening rests solely at our feet. It is we who call ourselves Christians that are failing to act; we are the ones who are choosing lives of contentment over lives of passion and action. It is we who will one day face our God and be asked to give an accounting for the way in which we spent our time.
What are you doing today that reflects the love of God? How are you spending your time? These are questions we all must ask ourselves every day. I confess that more days than not I am inconsistent in my walk. I have flashes of brilliance wherein I reflect the love of Christ, but they are couched between periods of darkness when I am self-absorbed and serving no kingdom purpose. You and I must overcome our inconsistencies and through God’s strength learn to discipline ourselves to live a life that reflects the love of Jesus to a dark and dying world. To this we are all called; it is the will of God for the life of every one of us. Before you leave your house today, prayerfully determine that you will reflect Jesus to every single person you encounter. Walk boldly through your world with the knowledge that the love of Christ is spilling out from you; feel His power course through your veins and seek opportunities to serve someone in need. Every moment will be won for Christ or lost to the enemy. Determine to live the life you promised to Christ. Seize the moment and save the day. The world needs you to live out your commitment. Together let us live our calling to love God and serve others. Enough of Christianity; let’s live as followers of Christ.
I’ve spent most of my life living in America and can say without a doubt that I have been blessed beyond measure to have done so. I’ve never known true hunger and have always had a roof over my head to sleep. I’ve lived in relative safety and never run out of clothes. Sitting down to a meal, no matter how small, is a luxury so many have never known. What I take for granted, others cannot even fathom. I am not anti-American or anti-capitalism; I have enjoyed the fruits of both. As a follower of Christ, however, I am anti-greed and anti-hoarding. With all the blessings we have received, how can we but help to pass them along?
We who seek to follow Jesus desire to reach out to others in love. We long for them to know of His saving mercy and grace, and the best witness we can give them is through the demonstration of God’s love in our own lives. It’s one thing to tell someone the truth, but an entirely different matter to live out that truth. When we demonstrate the love of Christ in the way we live, others will be curious and drawn to us. Nothing compels like love; nothing repels like indifference. No matter how unlovable an individual may appear, all people have needs and as ambassadors of Christ it is our responsibility to serve them.
Take nothing for granted in your life. Practice being grateful for all the blessings you have received and then use those moments of gratitude to spur you to action. Take an extra thirty seconds to pray over your food before you eat; I assure you it will still be there when you are finished praying. Concentrate on how privileged you are to be able to have a hot, nutritious meal practically anytime you want one; recognize that more than half of the world does not share this privilege. Pray for those who do not share in your blessing of food. In the emotion of that moment, determine some way you can help alleviate hunger in the world. World Vision has a wonderful collection of ways in which you can provide food for those in need. You could sponsor a child through Compassion International, or perhaps donate to your local food bank. Consider sharing several meals each month with a stranger; if not inviting someone to physically be there, take the money you would have spent on the extra food and donate it to an organization that can minister to those beyond your reach. In this way you can share your blessings with those in need.
You can apply the principles above to any area that you currently take for granted. When you pour a glass of water for yourself, remember those who have no access to clean water and are dying from the parasites they have ingested drinking from their filthy water supply. Get involved with ministries like Living Water International or donate to the “100 Wells Campaign” of Persecution Project. Take a couple of cases of bottled water downtown in your city and hand them out to those who are homeless. Consider ways you can act in kind whenever you get dressed, get in the car, go to the grocery store, or take a hot shower – anything and everything you now take for granted. As we begin to pray for and relate to those who are less fortunate than ourselves, we will begin to understand and relate to their situation. We will find our hearts broken by their circumstances. We will find our hearts breaking over the injustices in the world, and seek out effective and creative ways to help. Our lives will begin to look like Jesus.
I challenge you to try out the above suggestions. Over the next thirty days, choose just one or two areas you currently take for granted, and focus on being grateful for it. Pray for those who are not blessed in the way you are, and then take a tangible step to do something about the inequity. If God has blessed you to live in a country that allows you to live in freedom and luxury compared to the majority of the world, then you – like me – have a great responsibility to share our wealth with others. We are commanded to love others as Jesus loves them; what better way to fulfill that command than by living out that love in a way that shares our blessings with them? Be grateful in all things, and then turn your gratitude into action by serving others with tangible acts of love. Love God and love people; never take for granted that with which you have been blessed.
If you are like me, you aren’t content to simply follow Jesus; you want to do it in a big way and live a life that brilliantly reflects the love of God. We want to be extraordinary. Following in the footsteps of Christ is a very difficult task that at times seems nearly impossible. How then could we ever hope to live a life that goes above and beyond that to which He has called us? I was listening to one of my mentors this morning, the late Jim Rohn, and he said that the key to being extraordinary was to do ordinary things extraordinarily well. You’ve probably heard that in some form before, but the wisdom in this advice is quite sound. We don’t need to be superstar performers or super spiritual ascetics to live our lives way beyond measure. We simply need to do the little things we can do with great care and enthusiasm, in ways that exceed the wildest expectations of others.
Sometimes simply going about our day with a smile on our faces will be far beyond what anyone expects. We live in a dour, cynical world and when someone favors us with a smile it is often unexpected and always appreciated. Think back to the last time a stranger gave you the gift of a friendly smile; did it not lift your spirit in an inexplicable manner? This is such a small task, one that anyone can accomplish, yet it can have such a profound impact on not only the one to whom you give the gift, but also on your own disposition. Smiling releases endorphins and serotonin, our built in natural wonder drugs that make us feel happier and more relaxed. A calm, vibrant person becomes more naturally attractive to others and this affords us the opportunity to both reflect and share the love of Jesus with others. Simply by smiling you’ve gone from an average Christian to an evangelist; how extraordinary!
When you offer help to someone in need, don’t be content to stop at the obvious problem at hand. Show genuine love to that person, and offer to spend a few more minutes helping them with something else. How often do you have a thirty second conversation with someone and then move on, content that you have fulfilled your socially polite duties? Have you ever had the experience of saying “Good morning!” to someone and had them respond with a “Fine, thanks”? We have these pre-programmed conversations that we utilize automatically when we come across a casual acquaintance in a hallway or supermarket. What if we took the effort to disengage our auto-pilot and spend two minutes of actual conversation with that person instead of the obligatory thirty seconds? Would that person not realize that you were genuinely interested in them and perhaps eventually begin sharing their heart and struggles with you? Now you have created an opportunity to speak love into their life and help them begin a healing process that might very well lead them to devoting their life to Christ. All this takes is an additional ninety seconds of your time. By sparing ninety seconds each day to engage someone in meaningful conversation, you just might fulfill the command of Christ to make a disciple. Ninety seconds; that’s extraordinary!
Being extraordinary for Jesus is not a task that is beyond us; it is simply a matter of looking at the ordinary things we do every day, and finding ways to do them better than before. These small, incremental changes will compound to have a dramatic effect on the life you live for Christ. As you build momentum by focusing on the previously mundane aspects of your walk, you will find simply following Jesus is not enough; now you must pursue Him with an intense devotion and unbridled passion because a little of Jesus leaves you thirsting for so much more. This is a life that is far from ordinary; seek it and you will find that you can indeed be extraordinary in your service to Christ.