In the Old Testament, God sometimes referred to the Children of Israel as hardhearted, hardheaded, and stiff-necked. They ran hot for God one moment and cold the next. They would praise and worship Him, and be obedient for a short season, then they’d go off the rails; worshipping idol gods and doing whatever they felt like doing. Idolatry is something God dislikes greatly, and He doesn’t tolerate this behavior from His children. His commandment in Exodus 20:3 (KJV) says, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” He is a jealous God, and we are commanded to worship Him only; for only He is deserving of our worship through the Lord Jesus Christ. God wanted His people to follow His nature and to seek His Will in all things because this is the only way to live a blessed life. Following God’s Will protects us from evil and helps us to become the person we are meant to be. God desired this for those living in Old Testament times, and He desires it for those of us living today.
Many of us have heard from very early on how important getting an education is to a person’s life. In truth, getting a college education is not nearly as important as getting a spiritual education regarding the Lord Jesus Christ; however, higher education carries with it a certain level of prestige and privilege, and it makes earning a living a little easier. We place a high value on quality education, and we expect our children will have access to it, so they can continue to learn and grow into productive citizens. At the elementary stage, they learn to aspire to be something more when they are older. As they progress through the educational system, this aspiration begins to take shape. It’s more defined and becomes more closely aligned with a teenager’s personality or preferences. Then, when they are ready to graduate high school as a young adult, he or she is expected to make a definitive choice about what they want to do with their lives.
We are taught from a young age to define our own futures, but we can’t do this to the best of our ability if we don’t know the reason we exist. We didn’t create ourselves, God did. We must seek Him to know who we are and what we should be doing with our lives. 2Corinthians 5:20(NLT) tells us “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” God tells us that we are ambassadors for Jesus Christ, our Lord. And He didn’t stop there, He told us exactly what we should be doing in this privileged position; we are to speak for Christ.
Our Heavenly Father is our Creator, and He has created every person WITH a purpose FOR a purpose. Jesus Christ gave us an extremely wise piece of wisdom and truth in Matthew 6:33 concerning our approach to life. He tells us to seek God’s Kingdom and righteousness before we seek any other thing, because this is the way to stay under God’s covering of blessing and protection. Whenever we are faced with choices about what to do in life, our first step should be to seek God’s direction and guidance.
The world teaches people to be dependent on money, fame, success, and education. It tells us that these things will make us happy. While they are good in many respects, we should never depend on anything or any person to define who we are. God alone defines us. A dependency on anything other than His grace and love can lead to negative behaviors, attitudes, and outcomes. God tells us Romans 12:2 not to be dependent on the things of this world, but to change the way we think so that we are transformed, from the inside out, into the masterpiece God wants us to be. 1Corinthians 6:20(NLT) tells us, “for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.” We don’t belong to ourselves; we belong to God. Our Heavenly Father wants us to have the best, and He wants us to maximize our earth experience and squeeze every drop of happiness out of it that we possibly can. But we can’t get it twisted, we are not here on this earth to do anything we please any time that we please. This kind of attitude is a fast track to trouble.
We are ambassadors of Christ, we represent the King. Our agenda was set before we entered our mother’s womb. We are on this earth to live for Christ! This is God’s agenda for us. If our own personal agendas take us away from God’s agenda, we cannot follow our own agendas. We must follow Christ, for he told us in Luke 14:27 that whoever doesn’t bear their own cross and come after him cannot be his disciple.
One of the most important ways that we must follow Christ is to mirror his example in life and particularly when it comes to our relationship with Heavenly Father. Jesus said in John 12:49-50(NLT), “I don’t speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 And I know his commands lead to eternal life; so I say whatever the Father tells me to say.” You and I don’t have any authority of our own. The arrogance of some people makes them think they have power and authority, but power and authority belong only to Heavenly Father. Jesus Christ understood this, and that’s why he didn’t come to earth with his own agenda but followed Heavenly Father’s Will. You and I must do the same.
In John 5:19, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does.” As ambassadors of Christ we can’t say or do any-and-every-thing that pops into our heads. Our words and actions must be seasoned with love, faith, and gratitude; they must be uplifting. Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God. He is part of the Godhead and has all power in his hands. Jesus came to earth with a mission, and he didn’t stray from it, but accomplished it perfectly. He kept his eyes on the Father and did only what he saw the Father doing.
Jesus Christ stated that he could not do anything by himself, he only does what the father does. What does this mean to you and me? It means, similarly, that we should not think we can do anything by ourselves either. Jesus tells us this in John 15:5(NLT). He said, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” We have free-will, and we make choices every day that shape and mold the lives we have. God will not force us to choose love and choose to walk the path He’s laid before us, but make no mistake, this is the best path we can take in life. When we walk by what God has planned, we can rest assured that His plan will lead to us to a blessed existence and eternal life.■
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.“Living for Christ” by JMack. Written for 4theChristianMan.Com© 2018. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.