YOUR LIFE COUNTS

For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

Greetings in the precious Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May the good LORD bless your children and grandchildren as they begin a new academic year. May the LORD bless them with good health, wisdom and knowledge.

Referring to the above verse Paul reminds us that we are created in Christ Jesus! Notice two points in this verse: 1. God created you. You are not an accident. 2. God has a plan for you. Which means that you have a purpose – to touch the world for Christ! So you have a purpose and God has great plans for you. Paul never knew this and he was following his church theology until he met Jesus Christ. You can make a difference. Your life counts! I want to share with you six factors which count why you are created for God.

1. You are created to know God.

   Our life on this earth is very brief when compared to eternity.  When we truly consider all the activities that we spend our time on in this life, nothing is as important as knowing God and having a close relationship with Jesus.  If we miss this, then we miss eternal life(1 John 5:10-12). In John17:3, we read: “Now this is eternal life; that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent”. Look at what the Lord says in Jeremiah 24:7 — “I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the Lord; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart.”
   We can see that the Lord wants us to know Him in a more personal way!  Maybe you’re just coming to know Him or you’ve been a Christian for years: Keep pressing deeper in your relationship with Jesus and give Him your “whole heart” every day! In order for a friendship to grow and stay alive, the two people must spend time together.  This is also very true when it comes to our relationship with the Lord: We have to make time to “be still and know” that He is God!  All throughout our day, our minds should be filled with His Spirit as we focus our thoughts on Jesus, who is “true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report”. We need to spend time storing the Word of God within our hearts (Psalm 119:11).  In the Bible, bread is sometimes used as a symbol for the Scriptures (Matthew 4:4).  The last chapter of Luke tells us about the two disciples on their way to Emmaus and how Jesus “expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.”  Later on, they told the other disciples that Christ was “known to them in the breaking of bread.”  (Luke 24:35)  In the same way, God will reveal Himself to us as we take time in His word because “out of His mouth cometh knowledge and understanding” (Proverbs 2:6). The Pharisees memorized large portions of scripture; they worshipped at the temple; they prayed, fasted, and tithed.  They even claimed to be God’s chosen people, but yet Jesus said to them in John 8:19 “You know neither Me nor My Father”.  How could this be possible? Read Mathew 7:21-23 and Hosea 8:12.

2. YOU ARE CREATED FOR GOD’S GLORY

   In Isaiah43:1-7, we read, “But now, thus says the Lord, your creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I have given Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place. Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you, I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring My sons from afar, and My daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed even whom I have made.”

   So remember, you and I are created for God’s glory. The glory of God is the beauty and excellence of His manifold perfections.It is an attempt to put into words what God is like in his magnificence and purity. It refers to his infinite and overflowing fullness of all that is good.

3. YOU ARE CREATED TO PRAISE GOD.

   All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O lord; they will bring glory to your name (Psalm 86:9).I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever (Psalm 86:12). Praise plays an important, biblical role in our walk with God. Isaiah 43:21 tells us that as believers, we were created to praise God. And Hebrews 13:15 encourages us to “continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God.” Praise should be a natural expression of our love for our heavenly Father. It should flow like a fountain out of His indwelling presence and should not have to be pumped up by our own efforts.

   Praise should also be offered to God in many ways: in public and in private, in words and in song. Our praise to God is most effective when it comes from a pure heart—one that is free from bitterness and therefore open to give honor to our heavenly Father.

4. YOU ARE CREATED TO GROW THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT.
   The type of person you become is more important than your successes and failures in the world. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
5. 5. YOU ARE CREATED TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL.

   Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples (Psalm 96:3)Make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted (Isaiah 12:4).Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you (Matthew 28:19-20).

6. YOU ARE CREATED TO USE THE TALENTS GOD GAVE YOU.

   Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully (Romans 12:4-8).

DO NOT MINIMIZE YOUR ROLE.

All Christians collectively form the body of Christ. The body is formed of many different parts (Romans 12:4-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:12-27). All are important. It does not matter what part of the body you are.
Don’t be upset if you do not have a place of prominence, for, as you read in the above verse, God gives special honor to people with “less honorable” roles. Overcome jealousy or bitterness.
Don’t compare yourself to others or give up if someone seems to do a better job than you. Of course there are others who have more talent! If all the evangelists or witnesses or teachers in the world decided to stop trying because someone else did a better job, where would we be? So do not downplay the value of what you do.What counts is that you be faithful. God gave you talents and abilities. He expects you to develop them. Study Matthew 25:14-30.

Prayer: Lord, give me the grace to realize the purpose for which I am created. Make me a blessing to touch the world for Christ. Amen