Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing, you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
-Romans 12:2
Would you like to grow or regain your trust in God? If yes, ask yourself:
What is my life goal and mission statement? Why do I get up in the morning?
Is Jesus truly Lord of my life, the captain of my ship? Or do I only say he is?
There is a way of measuring whether Jesus is at the center of life and all we have or whether he’s slipped into the backseat of the bus. Maybe it didn’t happen deliberately or suddenly, but perhaps the original glow of faith has faded over time. For whatever reason, Jesus is not front-and-center, number one, anymore. He has ceased to be the door into life (John 10:7) and become merely another piece of furniture in the room. In this case, the “Get up” command is our wake-up call. Like Peter chained in his jail cell (Acts 12:5-17), we’ve fallen asleep and must be awakened before being led to freedom.
The best, most straightforward way of gauging Jesus’ current standing with us is to see how often we think about others and how we treat them. They only take a vital place in our lives when Jesus takes first place. If Jesus controls our lives, we would be willing to sell our house if he wanted us to free up cash for an important ministry.
Or, we would accept responsibility for our actions, apologize, change our attitude, and try to be more loving, caring, and humble. We would confront and let go of any love or addiction that has controlled our lives and deeply hurt those we love.
When Jesus is second, third, or tenth, we can be sure that the needs of others and love or respect for them won’t even be on the screen. It’s I, me, and mine all the way.
Before you get guilt-ridden over this (that’s not my intention), try doing this: stop and think about your life mission statement. I mean, jot down the essential things in your life on paper. Our family has done this, discussing, brainstorming, and listing what is important to us. We came up with six items. So, as the weeks and months pass, we can frequently glance at what we think is most valuable and check our daily schedule of events and how we spend our money against what we have written. It keeps us on target.
What’s on the top of our list?
Service to Christ and others is high, and sometimes, we must dump what is scheduled that day or change things around to accommodate our priorities.
You’ve heard of the “tyranny of the urgent.” It raises its head every day of the week. Keeping your life mission statement in front of you is like the difference between flying by instruments and flying by the seat of your pants. If every day is determined by whatever we feel is a must-do, we’ll abandon our instruments, run out of fuel, and go down somewhere in the desert.
So, intentionally write down your priorities and reduce the hubbub that occupies your time, including the unnecessary time you spend on the computer, scrolling through your phone, or watching television.
If you have a family, cut back on the endless, pointless, or distracting activities taking you away from them. Instead, prayerfully consider God’s plan for them. Use this precious opportunity to relax with them and get to know them. Downsize your belongings, make an effort to reduce your away hours, and spend more time with your spouse, family, friends, and worship. Allow the hold of ever-increasing possessions to loosen by giving away yourself and more of your goods to the glory of God.
The result is often happiness, contentment that can’t be found anywhere else, and growing confidence in a God who can always do anything and everything we need.
Prayer for Today: Lord, please keep me from falling asleep on my journey to your heavenly shores. Keep me from falling in love with anyone or anything that takes away my focus on you and your eternal kingdom, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
- The Star of Bethlehem - December 17, 2024
- The Baby in the Manger - December 1, 2024
- Does Physics Point to God? “Physics to God” with Rabbi Elie Feder and Rabbi Aaron Zimmer - November 30, 2024
