That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling… –Ephesians 1:17-18.
We all have things we pursue in many aspects of our life. We all need to spend time fulfilling our responsibilities at work and at home. As Anabaptist people, we are known to possess a solid work ethic; but that is not all there is to living the Christian life. We may fellowship with likeminded believers from our church or community, but does our Christian life consist of anything more? Does practically living out our Christian life just mean being a member of our church and having personal devotions every day? Are we free to spend most of our day pursuing things that bring worldly gain? Perhaps we think that we need to spend some time as a volunteer or as a missionary in order to have more value in the Kingdom of Heaven.
What is purpose? Do you have purpose? Everyone has things they pursue, whether it is preparing themselves for a certain sport, pursuing a career, or devoting time to a certain hobby. An athlete spends many hours preparing himself for the goal he has set. An individual studying to become a doctor sacrifices many hours of his time with the goal of becoming a physician. What are the things you are pursuing, and do you have a specific goal in mind? More importantly, let’s examine whether the time we are investing in our pursuits now will bring an eternal return.
God has given each of us a responsibility
In Luke 19 is the parable of the nobleman giving his servants talents to invest. Consider the charge he gave his servants in verse 13. He said therefore, A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come –Luke 19:12-13.
This parable applies to each one of us. Each of us has different responsibilities, from filling our responsibilities at home, to administrative roles in a place of business. While we do not all own equal responsibilities, we have all been given “talents” to use. We all have a place to fill. We should be making the best of the resources we have been given to invest in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Back to my question, “Does living our Christian life just mean being a member of our church and having personal devotions once a day?” If the Lord has given each of us resources to invest, then we need to consider what we are doing with the time we are given every day. Often, we can budget plenty of time pursuing materialistic things such as hunting, sports, vehicles, etc. While all these things can be useful and healthy, do the things we are pursuing have eternal gain? We don’t seem to be afraid to devote hours of our time on our latest project, however it seems we have a hard time finding a place in our schedule for God’s work.
Personal responsibility
It is easy to have the mindset that, unless we are sacrificing our time in some voluntary capacity in a mission-oriented place, then there is not a lot more than can be done for the Kingdom of Heaven. Is that the reality though? Like the servants in the parable, we have each been given resources that we need to “occupy till the Lord returns”. The Lord has placed each of us in a unique place to serve in His kingdom, whether it is at home, on the job, or on the mission field. We have opportunities around us to exercise those gifts and show the love of Christ. The consideration should be whether I am actually seeing those opportunities or missing them because I am not looking for them. The more time we prioritize serving His Kingdom, the more we will see the needs around us. Remember, there are people around us every day that we can influence for God.
Recognizing our opportunities
Some time ago, I had a coworker come to my office and ask me a simple technical question. I was able to answer the question and work resumed as normal. But I had to wonder why he left the shop and came to me. He was within talking distance of multiple other individuals that would have been able to answer his question. Looking back, I realized that I had an opportunity to provide a listening ear and some caring words for this individual. He was facing some serious personal and relational challenges in life, and he needed someone who cared for him. I realized that there was probably a deeper reason he went out of his way to find an answer to his question. Was I the only one there that could have listened and shared with him? Certainly not. It was an opportunity for me. I could have chosen to be annoyed at him because he was taking up my time for something that someone else could have helped him with. But the question is—did I have the humility to recognize that it was an opportunity for me to reach out to him?
Where do I start?
We all have opportunities around us to exercise our talents. Jesus said: Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men –Matthew 5:13. Salt always affects its environment no matter what it is used for. If we are compared to salt, then we should be affecting the environment around us all the time. Our Christian life then becomes more than simply going to church or spending some personal time praying and reading the Bible.
Start by asking God to help you see areas where you can serve others in everyday life. You have an opportunity to impact the lives of those around you. It might be your family, coworkers, customers, or people you meet while away from home. The point is, you have the opportunity around you to offer someone help, to encourage them, or to give them a hand. Are you making the best of those opportunities?
Another thing you should do is evaluate your personal life and the time you spend doing other activities. Are there things you are doing which take up your time and that have no benefit in the Kingdom of God? Maybe God has given you a gift that you are hiding instead of using to invest in His Kingdom. Do you spend time praying and seeking God’s will for your life? Do you spend time studying the Word of God? When our personal time with God becomes a higher priority for us, then our time spent pursuing God’s Kingdom will also become a higher priority. Is there sin hindering you from living out your Christian life? Confess it. Repent of it. Then… Go, and sin no more!
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God –Hebrews 12:1-2.
In the beginning of the article, I asked what you are pursuing. Does your life show that fulfilling God’s will is your highest priority, or is there something else that takes that spot? Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost –Romans 15:13. There are people around us that do not have the hope of a better, future life to strive for that we do. It is up to us to share that with others. Ask God for His Spirit to guide you and show you your opportunities. You cannot sit back and wait for the opportunities to come to you; you need to go find them. Go light your world!
