“Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.” 1 Peter 4:1-2
Some people when they suffer a great loss or experience a season of depression or have had an extra tough life declare that they have nothing to live for. Other people declare they have much to live for. Some even say they have everything to live for. I have walked in the shoes of all three. Feeling for years due to personal challenges I had nothing to live for. At other times, feeling I had much to live for. And sometimes feeling I had everything to live for. The question for all of us shouldn’t be if and what we think we have to live for. It should be for whom are we living? Are we living for the Lord Jesus Christ? If we are doing anything but living for Him, we are missing why God created us, the point of life, the only way to a personal relationship with God, the only way to heaven, the plan and purpose God has for us, His will for our lives, and the immeasurable joy and fulfillment that can only be found in submitting ourselves to Christ’s lordship now and forever and thereby having an indescribably marvelous everlasting relationship with God through Christ.
One of the greatest tragedies I come across on an unbelievably regular basis is talking to people who profess to believe in Jesus and call themselves Christians but live for themselves instead of for Christ, live by their own will instead of studying the Bible, seeking and following God’s will, and assume a mental faith in Christ is enough to secure them reservations in heaven while they cleave to their old lives, old ways, old desires, and the ways of this world.
The only way to a relationship with God now and forever in heaven is by turning from our lifestyle of sin and self-centeredness and having genuine faith in Jesus Christ as LORD OF OUR LIVES whereby our lifestyles are living proof that we have forsaken our self-centered lives and choose day by day to die to self and live for Him. God’s way. God’s will. For God’s glory.
Today, I have everything to live for! For I live for Christ Jesus my Lord! Is He your Lord? Do you live for Him?