As a follower of Christ, who desires to live on purpose, I want to yield daily to the Holy Spirit, so I might prayerfully look to God’s Word to apply God’s wisdom and walk in God’s will. As one living on purpose for God, I’m concerned about things that concern God, which means I’m concerned about my life pointing others to Christ. For certainly, one of God’s chief concerns is that all have opportunity to be saved.
“(God) does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.” - 2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)
As one who shares God’s concern for the salvation of others, I’ll want to seek to live in such a way that others will want to know about Christ.
“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it.” - 1 Peter 3:15 (NLT)
But how do I live a life that others will look to an wonder what the difference is? How can I live the kind of life that others will respect and want to know about the Christ I follow? Well, here in God’s Word, the Holy Spirit can lead us to apply God’s wisdom and be in God’s will concerning this matter. (READ TEXT)
Paul wrote to Timothy about a question that’s faced every generation of young people through the centuries: “How do to get people to take me seriously?” In the advice he gives Timothy, we learn how all of God’s children, regardless of our age, can live a life others look to.
Interestingly enough, the word translated “young” was a word used to refer to one who was eligible for military service. Such eligibility lasted until one was 40 years old. Many Bible scholars tell us that Timothy was likely between 35 and 40 years of age when Paul wrote this letter.
The point I’m making is that while the problem of gaining the respect of others is one commonly faced by teenagers, it is also one faced by persons of every age; and as we have already said, if I am seeking to live my life on purpose for God, then I will be concerned about living a life that others will look to and want to know about the Christ I follow.
So what advice does Paul give Timothy here that we need to also apply and seek to follow? Well, he says we can live a life other look by setting a good example in . . .
1. Speech.
It was a wise man who once said: “The best way to judge the character of a man is not by what others say about him, but by what he says about others.” - Anonymous
The way we use our tongues reveals the condition of our hearts.
“The mouth speaks what the heart is full of.” - Matthew 12:34b (NIV)
“Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.” - James 1:26 (NIV)
If Christians want to earn the respect of others and live a life that others look to, then we must set an example with our speech. Because . . .
“People with sharp tongues often end up cutting their own throats.” - Anonymous
A man who had a high opinion of himself thought that he had to make a comment on everything, usually of the critical kind. One day, he was walking down main street, when he passed the store of a taxidermist. There was a crowd gathered around the display window looking at a large owl perched on a tree branch. The man started in with his usual criticisms. “If I couldn’t stuff an owl better then that, then I think I’d close up shop. The head to too large for the body, the winds are mis-sharpened, everything’s wrong.” Just then, the owl turned its head and winked at the critic; and the crowd roared with laughter.
While many a constant critic offers criticisms in the effort to be taken seriously, they often only succeed in not being taken seriously at all.
“It is easier to save face if you keep the lower half shut.” - Anonymous
I heard about a man who wisely prayed, “Lord, help my words to be gracious and tender today, for I may have to eat them tomorrow.”
We would all do well to pray the prayer of David, who said:
“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” - Psalm 19:14 (ESV)
2. Life.
The One who said that He came to give us abundant life is the Christian’s constant companion. Surely then, we ought to be living life to the fullest! The sad fact, however, is that many Christians are not.
An old story is told about a little boy lived out in the country and had never seen a traveling circus, and one was coming to town that Saturday. When he asked his father permission to go, his dad said he could go providing he got his chores done early. When Saturday morning came, he finished his chores early, cleaned himself up, and asked his father for money to go to the circus. His dad gave him a dollar bill - the most money the boy had ever seen at one time. Off he went. As he approached town, he saw people lining the streets. Peering through the line at one point, he got his first glimpse of what was the circus parade. There were animals in cages and marching bands. Finally, a clown came, bringing up the rear of the parade.. The little boy was so excited that when the clown passed, he reached in his pocket and handed the clown the dollar bill. Thinking he had seen the circus when he had only seen the parade, the little boy turned around and went home. The tragedy of most of our lives isn’t that we aspire too high and fail. It’s rather that we settle for too little. We could have a greater influence; and yet, because of fear or ignorance, shame, or inertia, we take the precious dollar of our lives and settle for the parade, instead of the real thing. Instead of living life as God calls us to, we settle for something far less.
How about you? Are you settling for less than God’s best for you?
“‘I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.’ God’s Decree. ‘For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth, doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, so will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them.’” - Isaiah 55:8-11 (The Message)
“There are higher heights, there are deeper seas; whatever You need to do, Lord, do it in me. The glory of God fills my life and I will never be the same again.”
As we apply God’s wisdom and walk in God’s will as the Spirit directs us, our life will be lived each day as an adventure with God, as He leads us to experience His best; and we will be used to draw people to Christ, not run them away from Christ.
3. Love.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” - John 13:34-35 (NIV)
The way we love one another, forgive each other, encourage each other, prayer for each other should be something that will draw others to want to know the difference Christ can make in their lives, too.
Sadly, too many Christians aren’t loving, but are more like a farmer I heard about, who had a neighbor come by who stopped to watch him plow his field with his mule harnessed to the plow.
The neighbor said, “I don’t want to tell you your business, but things would go better if you gave some commands to your mule. I tell my mule “Gee” to go and “Haw” to stop, instead of just tugging on the lines.” The farmer replied, “Well, that old mule kicked me a couple of years ago, and I ain’t spoke to him since.”
As Christians living our lives on purpose, let’s set an example of how a personal relationship with Christ enables us to love one another.
4. Faith.
The idea here is of a faith that is lived out. Perhaps a good translation would be faithfulness. If we are going to live a life others look to, we must set an example of faithfulness.
An accountant promised his clients that should they ever be audited by the IRS, he would accompany them to any interviews. A client was audited and summoned by the IRS to a meeting. His accountant went to the meeting with him, but when his name was called to go in an meet with the auditor, the accountant said, “This is as far as I go. I promised I would accompany you to a meeting with the IRS, but I never said anything about going in to the meeting.”
That’s not faithfulness! Faithfulness means you’re all in! You’re all in with respect to being there, to following through, to keeping your Word. That’s faithfulness. And that’s the kind of example that will draw others to Christ.
5. Purity.
If one is going to live a life that attracts others to Christ, then we must pursue a life of purity. It is difficult to find anything to attract someone to Christ if they are living an impure life.
A tossed salad might look good. But I learn that it was prepared with hands that were unwashed and dirty, I soon lose my appetite.
Conclusion:
“Anyone who does not gather with Me scatters.” - Matthew 12:30b (HCSB)
Where are you as a Christian? Is your life gathering others to Christ? Or is your life scattering others away from Christ? This must be a our concern, if we’re serious about living our lives on purpose for God.
