We must live intentional, even in the process of dying. If we are living only for ourselves then we will truly end up dying alone - with ourselves. It’s only through forfeiting our own selfish ambitions that we can learn to truly live a life that is fulfilling and purposeful. This doesn’t just happen. We have a lot to lose when we give away a life that we designed for selfish endeavors. And it means we no longer have a sense of identity rooted in our individual gifts and talents. That means everything has been stripped from us leaving us naked, vulnerable, and fearful. When we realize our identity is not found in our own strength, but God’s strength living in us, then we can rise above the ashes and move forward to a life that has been designed with a purpose. A life formulated, not by our own hands, but by the hands of our creator is much better than a life we can create on our own.
The amazing thing about realizing your life purpose is that you quickly realize your life is not all about you. You are a vessel God uses to help others. If you were a cup, HE would pour his love into you and you would provide his living water to others who are thirsting for God's righteousness. The more you give away, the larger the vessel God gives you, and the more you can give away. When you bless others, you make room for more of God's blessings. When you pour out God's love to your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers and strangers, be ready, because God will smile down on you as he pours out more blessings on your head.
The Bible says, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). Only through our sacrifices will we earn treasures in heaven. What we accomplish here on earth is only limited by the time that we are here on earth. Everything tangible (money, fame, success) will have lost meaning and disappear after we are gone. But when we build up our treasures in heaven they will live in eternity. Our legacy is our final report card determined by how well we lived, good or bad, and it will exist forever unchanged.
In the scripture below, I love and fear the term, “eternal praise.” It conjures up in my mind that how I lived, the people I influenced, the legacy I leave behind will live on into eternity. Our legacy, good or bad, will be the result of our intentionality or failure of it. We can blindly walk through a life where wisdom has eluded us leaving a trail of foolish consequences behind us. Relationship carnage can be scattered on the pathways of our lives where the innocent suffered more harm than received our love. So, I repeat myself because I feel it is worthy of repeating: We must live intentional, even in the process of dying.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.”
Psalm 111:10