From Wall Street to the Streets & Death Row
“And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” 2 Corinthians 5:15
Once upon a time there was a little girl with big dreams who went to the best of private schools, an Ivy League college, worked in London as a copy editor of special sections for international Time Magazine, and later lived the high life working on a national daily newspaper in the Wall Street area of New York City, tossing money around like it would never run out and filling up her resume with big things and her social calendar to no end. She lived the American dream and looked forward to writing books and hitting the New York Times bestseller list. She enjoyed the praises of the world that applauded how well she fit into the American Dream of worldly success and was well on her way to more of it. She didn’t garner an ounce of true satisfaction, however, until she left it all behind and found herself years later living and breathing to love the Lord and help people to become and remain forever followers of the Lord Jesus Christ whether they were living on the streets or on death row, in mansions or in tents, rich or poor, lost, broken, abandoned, hurting, abused, addicted, depressed, suicidal, hopeless, successful in the world’s eyes or not, billionaires or penniless, living nearby or in other countries, bruised and battered by life, perpetrators of heinous crimes, on vacation or never had one, all races, any nationality, in a nutshell, humans, humans in need of the Lord Jesus Christ and knowing how to believe in Him and follow Him forever.
This isn’t just any story; it is mine. And I have never been more of a failure in the world’s eyes, nor more overlooked, more rejected, more hated, more tread upon, more forgotten, more abandoned by humans – and more satisfied. I haven’t had a resume in years. My own dreams are gone. Now I live the Lord’s will for my life. And when I stand before Him one day as we all will do, I will not be able to wave at Him a long list of all my worldly successes. For I will have none. But I will have this. I will know that I have lived to love and serve Him with all of my heart. And, in the grand scheme of things, nothing else matters. It took me decades to come to know the Lord and to discover this. He did not create us to live for ourselves. He created us to live for Him.
From Wall Street to the streets and death row. And whomever else and wherever God sends me. For I finally understand my life is His. And there is NOTHING more beautiful and rewarding than living for HIM!
What will you not give up for God? Is the Spirit of God moving on your heart?