Why People Never Really Live For God?

Last week we considered a key reason why many people never really live for God. Today let us consider a second key factor that limits our living for God. That factor is that we don’t see ourselves as God sees us and therefore we do not know or live to achieve our eternal purpose. Another way of saying that is that we are limited by having a today focus rather than a tomorrow (or eternal) focus.

Too many of us see ourselves from an earthly perspective so we limit our purpose to making money, obtaining personal success, raising good families, looking good, being thought of as important by others, and the list goes on and on. Yet that is not where God places His primary emphasis for us. Rather, He says that we have an eternal destiny that we are to be preparing for. Mark 8:36 “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” Clearly in Jesus’ outlook today should never cause us to lose sight of our tomorrow (or our eternal purpose).

        Here are 3 considerations to use as we examine if we are eternity focused and living for God:

1. Live for the legacy. Spend time on that which will last long after our lives (Matthew 6:19—21). What legacy do you want to leave in the work you do, through the relationships you maintain, in how you spend your time and energy?

2. Assess Your Valuables. Do an assessment on what you are investing in. If a soul is more valuable than gaining the whole world (Mark 8:36) then we should be investing in the lives of those around us. Where are we investing—in people or things?

3. Connect to the Life Source. Jesus said that He was the ‘true vine’ (John 15:1—5) which refers to the fact that He is the source of energy and the lifeline by which nutrients are provided to produce God’s fruit in us. Where are we gaining our strength for living life?

My prayer for you today is that you will see your great value and role in bringing God’s kingdom desires to be on earth as they are in heaven. Remember that you have a heavenly calling on your life that gives you an eternal purpose. Now live it out!