What A Great Life

Being a servant of God is the greatest life on earth. There is no other life with a nobler purpose than helping pull humans from the flames of Hell. What other life offers wonderful adventures that will last for all eternity? Where else can we find loving people that we will live with and enjoy forever? And there are no words that can describe the riches we will inherit someday including roads made of solid gold. People say that they can never have this great life because they are too busy or some other lame excuse. It is also impossible to reach this goal in life with our own power. The secret is to turn our life over to the Spirit of Jesus and let Him show us the way while relying on His power. The Bible tells us over and over what is available to us if we will just let go of our natural life. It is like the hand in the small necked jar that will not let go of some large item of desire. We must remember that there are many better items available outside of the jar.

It is always a matter of faith. We must trust, believe, hope, expect, rely on, count on, bank on, depend, expect, or be convinced that Jesus really means what He is telling us. The Savior wants us to live our life in His love.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Eph 3:19-20 (NLT) Here the Bible calls this great life “the fullness of life”. No other life on this earth can compare in any area with the fullness that leads to life eternal with God.  The greatness of our life cannot even be defined with language which proves the absolute necessity for our faith. If we cannot see something and cannot describe it well, we are pretty much left with our belief in it. Because the greatest life on earth is only available through faith we must have the help of the Spirit to give understanding to any inquiring mind.

This great life is a brotherhood and nobody can do it alone. The great Paul who is an inspiration to every Christian gave mention of people that helped him. Even when he made this bold statement; For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty. Phil 4:13-14 (NLT) Paul’s success would have been much different if people had not contributed to his effort to serve the Lord. Paul did give most of the credit for his work to the strength of the Master as seen in both these verses. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, 1 Tim 1:12 (NLT) But he goes on to say that he was a trustworthy man. This means that he was faithful in his duty to the brotherhood and to his God. Of course, if God himself were not trustworthy we would all be lost. God needs to know that each of us is trustworthy in order to make us a reliable member of his family.

We must be convinced that God is faithful in everything He says about our life. Then we can really enjoy the greatness of His promises. Look what happened in this verse; Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. Romans 4:20-21 (NLT) There are two things that happened to Abraham when he trusted God. His faith grew stronger which is what will happen to us when we rely on the Spirit of Jesus. Also at the same time he brought glory to God that we still appreciate today when we read about it. What other type of life can we have that will build us up and at the same time bring glory to the creator of our universe? In a normal life on this earth almost everyone will let you down at some time of another. This is the reason we must pull back from many things that we would enjoy if we could trust others. But we can really reach out and do the impossible when our life has been totally given to God. Our Lord has never pulled the rug out from under his servants.

If we live this great life of faith it gives us an opportunity to have our name written on the eternal records along with the greatest people in history. The Bible says that; By faith these people overthrew kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised them. They shut the mouths of lions, quenched the flames of fire, and escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to strength. Heb 11:33-34 (NLT) We tend to say, “I can never be like those great people of God.” But the verse says they were weak until God turned them into someone strong. Believe it or not, God is looking for someone weak that will rely on Him so that He can turn us into a strong person. God’s strength begins by causing us to endure. Paul said; We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people Col 1:11-12 (NLT) The power is available if we simply trust Him with our life.

Most of us have heard the expression “pay it forward” that is used when talking about some good deeds that people have done for others. Maybe this is what Paul was telling his young friend in this passage. Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.    2 Tim 2:1-2 (NLT) The strength that God gives people in this great life can be used to pass it on to others. There is nothing more rewarding than someday running into our friends as we wander those streets of gold. Peter said this is the greatest life; And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen. 1 Pet 1:12 GLORY TO GOD FOREVER. The angels are watching the Spirit at work in our lives according to this verse. We must live a life that pleases God so that the angels will not be disappointed in us. Because the Bible tells us this life is available we must reach out and claim it. God will enjoy our efforts in faithfulness if nothing else.

This begs the question “do we appreciate this great life that God is providing for us”? Many people who claim to know Jesus have never lifted a finger to do anything for the Master. Is it possible to know and love our Savior but only live for ourselves? It does not matter if we live overseas or in the house we were born in. We need to greet Jesus in the morning with a big thank you and after a day of doing what he wants, then lay down at night to tell him we love Him. Paul said it this way; Take tender care of those who are weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back evil for evil, but always try to do good to each other and to all people. Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. 1 Thess 5:14-18 (NLT) Things are getting rough in this old world. We must make our stand now and show this beautiful life to others because there is not much time left.