Christian Living

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We spend our days rushing from a restless slumber through hurried prayer, willful children and wearily spouses to an unappreciative employer. After a nonstop day of emails, conference calls and senseless meetings, we race back to a chaotic home front of rushed meals, sports practices and music lessons on our way to a choir rehearsal or church committee meeting -- witnessing for Christ as we go! Sound familiar?

Is this the “work of faith” and “labor of love” that the apostle Paul was referring to in 1 Thessalonians 1:3 (NIV), when he said “We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”? In the midst of all our rushing headlong through this precious gift of life that God has given us, do we STOP often enough to check in with God? Have we jammed our lives so full of earthly and godly service that we have missed the point? Are we focused on the great commission to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout OUR world? Are we running through life so fast that our witness is getting diluted and scattered like fragrant blossoms in the wind? Would a non-believer who is attempting to establish a relationship with Christ based on our example, have a tough time putting all the fragments together? When we meet Jesus, will he say “I sent several non-believers your way so that your example could witness to them or they could seek your Godly council, but you were moving so fast, they couldn’t catch up“?

I pose these questions to you because I’ve been struggling with them myself. I have set out to deliberately simplify my life. I am relentlessly attempting to filter my activities and cut out anything that I don’t absolutely have to do. I’ve decided to focus on Christ FIRST and align all of my daily activities and priorities within that framework. I am seeking a life of balance, so that I can effectively witness in all of my activities. I have slowed my life down to a pace that allows me to have real conversations with my family, friends and co-workers. I take the time to look into their eyes and discern the essence of what lies behind their words. I seek out and seize the God-sent opportunities to give godly council and advice, that would have sped by me before. I take time to smile at strangers and engage in casual conversations whenever I can to give people the chance to see Jesus in me. The opportunities to share Jesus are everywhere, if we just take the time to focus on them. We need to share the gospel with those who don’t know as well as to encourage and strengthen each other. I know that what I am proposing isn’t easy but I also know that only what we do for Christ will last!

This world is in dire need of the Savior and if the people of God fail to rise to the challenge of carrying out the great commision, how will we explain it to Jesus when he comes back? Will we say, “We were just too busy“??

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