taking an in-depth look at your vocational “ministry” you must first begin with yourself. are you satisfied with your vocation? are you content with your tasks? or do you have contempt for your employer? do they pay you enough? how are your benefits? are these the things that are constantly on your mind?
what is a typical conversation like with your fellow employees? does it revolve around benefits and financial planning? is it about social events or television programs? for the younger generations, does it revolve around computer or console games?
is it ever about God? is it ever very often? do people come to you for advice on personal issues? do they ever ask you why you’re different? do they even notice that you are different? we are to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us. do you ever get asked?
the financial outcomes of your business dealings should never determine your contentedness. your portfolio or 401k is not the reason you are alive.
john piper wrote in his book don't waste your life that“aimless unproductive christians contradict the creative, purposeful, powerful, merciful God we love. they waste their lives.”
the question still remains, what do people see when they see you? what do they see when they see me? i pray that when they see me, they see Jesus. but, i know there are things that i still must change in my own life so that i can more perfectly reflect who He is.
if we should fail to properly reflect Jesus to those closest to us, how can we possibly even consider the idea that we can reflect who He is to someone we have never met, much less another culture? sure, we can suppress and hide who we are for a short while, but who we are will always emerge until we fully surrender every aspect of our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ.
anything withheld is to tell the Lord that He is not needed and to assume a place higher than that of Christ Jesus. the very sin of satan. if satan was not spared, then why should we? is it harsh? absolutely. but God requires nothing less than holiness and purity, not to mention perfection.
so what hope, then, do we have to offer ourselves and the world?
the apostle paul offers us hope when he says that he dies daily. our hope for a meaningful christian life lies in the prospect of death! what a paradox!
“for to me to live is Christ, to die is gain…Yet it is not I who lives, but Christ lives in me…”
see? paul talks about dying to himself on a daily basis then he goes on to say that because he dies to himself, he still lives, but it what people encounter is the power of the risen Christ glorified in paul’s life and actions. so to him, to live is Christ, to die is infinite gain because it would put him face to face with Jesus.
our hope is death! our lives, as john piper suggests, are to be lived so that even in or dying, Christ is glorified. aren’t we considered strange? isn’t that something that would make our friends, families, and co-workers stand up and take notice that our hope is in Christ instead living without problems or embarrassment?
i want to live my life so that when i die, people won’t say “he died too soon” or “what a waste.” i want to live and so die so people will say, “he was sold out to Christ.”
this leads to the next logical question, "how?" how do you live your life so that when you die people only talk about Jesus?
i’m not going to answer that because paul, james, john and luke give us a pretty good layout. the writer of Hebrews tells us to live by faith. james says that to be truly christian, our faith must be put into action. john tells us to be prepared, luke shows us how others have walked down the road we are looking down and paul invites us to follow his example if we find Christ’s too difficult.
for the world-wide renown of His sovereign glory...
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