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UNLESS...

Posted by Sarah Bourns , 10 September 2011 · 1320 views

My life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. --Acts 20:24

How often do we consider that our lives really are “worth nothing” to us—or to God—unless they are used for finishing His task?

Like Solomon, have we come to the conclusion that life is “meaningless, meaningless”, like chasing after the wind, when it’s lived merely for ourselves? Sure, we can concoct our own meaning and value and significance to life, just like the rest of the world does, and even find a measure of satisfaction apart from Christ. But, do we really agree with Paul to our very core that “my life is worth nothing to me UNLESS…”?

Maybe the word “life” is a bit big and vague. What if we replaced it instead with some other things that we value and prioritize within our daily lives… for example, “my education is worth nothing to me UNLESS I use it…”? Or “my friendships are worth nothing to me UNLESS…”? Or, “my job is worth nothing to me UNLESS…?”

How else could you fill in the blank there? What might be worth a lot to you right now, but that when you take a long look at it would actually be worth very little UNLESS the ultimate purpose is to finish God’s mission on this earth? Your car? Your pursuit of financial security? Your family? Your spouse... or the hope of marriage in the future? All these things are gifts from God, but truly meaningless UNLESS they allow us to further the work He has given us to do of telling others the “Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” Even ministry and missions can be “worth nothing,” UNLESS they are actively accomplishing the task of bringing all nations into the enjoyment of worshipping God forever.

Paul lived the latter part of his life with such an unswerving commitment to not spend his time and energy on anything that didn’t somehow contribute to seeing God’s Name ultimately praised by every tongue, tribe, and nation. May we follow his lead, using all the good things God has given us as just the means to the end goal of finishing the work assigned to us by the Lord Jesus Christ. May we refuse to find significance in our relationships, jobs, education, possessions, even ministry, apart from the role they play in furthering the Kingdom. And may we each consider our very lives valuable only to the extent that we fulfill the end goal of Jesus receiving glory from all nations on earth.




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Laurie Collett
Sep 19 2011 08:11 PM
Amen! God created us for His good pleasure. He is pleased when we have faith in Him, demonstrated by our obedience to His perfect will for our life. We are created to worship and to fellowship with Him, and to glorify Him in all that we do. All good and perfect gifts come from above, and without Him we can do nothing, so it makes sense that we offer our bodies to Him as a holy, acceptable living sacrifice, which is our reasonable service. Laurie Collett, Saved by Grace: http://savedbygraceb...y.blogspot.com/
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Thanks Sarah!

Mark Lynch
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