If you were to sum up your life, your purpose on this earth, what truths would you want to emphasize to your friends and family? What regrets would you have?
In the New Testament, we find the final words of the apostle Paul to the elders of the church he had started in Ephesus. Afterward, he spent some time there. Then he had to leave. But in Acts 20, he gave them his final charge. And in these words, the apostle summarized what really mattered to him in life.
Paul’s words certainly speak to us as well. Without question, they speak to any of us who are called to leadership in the church. But they also speak to Christians about what our priorities should be.
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And in verse 24, Paul summed up his experience well: “But 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” (NLT).
The New King James Version renders it this way: “But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
From the original language, the word “joy” could be translated “exceedingly happy.”
We might conclude from this statement that things must have been going reasonably well for Paul.
I don’t think so.
This was a man who knew what adversity was. He knew what suffering was. And he was saying that in the midst of it all, there is joy.
Joy is an operative word in the life of the Christian.
Sometimes people think that Christians live the most boring lives conceivable. But nothing could be further from the truth. The fact is that a happy life is a holy life, a life that is lived for God. Jesus not only promised us life beyond the grave, but he certainly promised us a dimension of life on earth that is worth living.
In fact, he said, “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10 NLT).
There are two ways we can live: the right way or the wrong way. There are two paths we can take: the narrow way that leads to life or the broad way that leads to destruction. And there are two foundations that we can build on: the rock or the sinking sand.
The result is that we can either live a happy and holy life or a miserable and unholy life.
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Most people envision the narrow way, the Christian life, as something that is full of rules, regulations and misery. The picture that most nonbelievers have of non-Christians is one of gloom and boredom.
They can’t fathom the appeal of going to church, singing worship songs, or studying the Bible. That’s because, as the Bible says, “people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means” (1 Corinthians 2:14 NLT).
When you know God and realize the Bible is not a mere book but God’s living word to each of us, it takes on an entirely new meaning. When you realize that prayer is not merely going through some ritual but is communicating with the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving God who is interested in you, it becomes much more significant.
And when you sing God’s praises, lifting up his name, there is nothing like it out there. It’s something the world doesn’t have.
When you truly come to know God, you will realize the Christian life is the greatest life there is. When you walk with God, there’s an indescribable joy. It isn’t a joy that comes from the buzz of alcohol, drugs, or anything else with a hefty price tag attached to it.
I’ve lived on both sides of the fence. I wasn’t raised in the church. I went out and did most of the things that people do when they’re looking for fulfillment. And I quickly came to realize how empty and futile it is. Now, being on the other side of that, I can tell you the Christian life is so much better.
If you’re trying to find some happiness this world might offer you, ultimately you will discover that it’s a dead-end street. It won’t satisfy you. And once you’ve had the real thing, cheap imitations never will suffice.
Let’s imagine for a moment that you’ve just come out of a great restaurant where you had a delicious meal. Then you happen to glance down and see a discarded burrito lying on the ground. Are you going to pick up that burrito and start eating it? Of course not. You’re satisfied. You’ve had the real thing, so you’re not interested in a cheap imitation.
In the same way, when you’ve been walking with God and experiencing the real thing, you will see the devil’s cheap imitations for what they are.
The problem is that we’re not spending enough time seeing who Jesus is. Because when we see who Jesus is, we will see the world for what it is. But if we are only looking at this world and not spending enough time with the Lord, then we’ll have a diminished view of God and an exalted view of this world. It should be the other way around.
Everything we need in life is found in a relationship with God. And we can discover this the easy way or the hard way.
Of course, you can say, “What do you know? All I want to do is have some fun. And I’m probably not the only one.”
Go for it. But you will discover the hard way that what I’m saying is true.
Paul wanted to finish his race with joy. We, too, can finish our race with joy, or we can throw our lives away. The choice is up to us.
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This article was originally published by the WND News Center.
Related:
- Laurie: Christian, Get Out Of The Bleachers And Get Into The Game
- Laurie: Are You Really A Christian? The 5-Point Litmus Test
- Laurie: The Church’s Secret Weapon
- Laurie: On Awakenings, Revivals And The Church
- Laurie: There Are No Spiritual Plateaus
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