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"Attaining Meaning"
Many of us cling to the thrill of victory, momentary lapses of pleasure, and day-to-day exchanges with family and friends in an attempt to satisfy our need for fulfillment. It is unfortunate that only a fraction of us actually catch on to what truly matters in life.
The Bible poses the following question:
"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" Mark 8:36 (NIV)
This gets at the heart of the matter and sifts through the verbage quite effectively doesn't it? Too many of us focus in on the trivial matters of this world instead of the matters of the soul and eternity that hold the real significance. At the end of the day will your material wealth hold any weight into where you spend eternity or what blessings you might have stored up for yourself forever? Perhaps it carries some weight that some financial matters, such as tithing, donating to worthwhile causes, and helping those in need might have an effect potentially (but what if those options aren't ever exercised or are thinly tapped into?) Such thoughts of doing so are nice on paper, but if never actuated in daily living, what good will they do us?
You may ask now: What does this have to do with attaining meaning, and furthermore what do you think acquiring true meaning actually entails? This question is valid, and the answer is this: It doesn't actually matter as much as we perceive it what this world claims to be of importance.
The Bible says:
The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:17 (NIV)
This verse is crystal clear - the desires of this world are quickly passing away and fleeting - and the truth is so are our lives. In order to grasp the real meaning of living and bypass all the superfluous garbage and distractions out to get us we need to follow the guidance of God's word on the matter.
The line is not even fully crossed on matters of material wealth either, but also extend to matters of lifestyle choice and other decision making. For example, I may think that attaining a higher education at the University of Miami is an excellent choice to achieve "success" on many levels. Although this may be true, to some extent, I need to be careful where I go with it in many respects. Why would getting this kind of education lead me to be anymore successful than I otherwise would be? Is my education aimed at ultimately furthering my own selfish ambitions and desires, or will the process empower me to more boldly serve God's calling and purposes for my life?
These are questions I frequently need to ask myself, in order to stay grounded in God's call, and avoid falling into the trap of purely self-oriented endeavor.
Personally, with my skills acquired in the Marketing field and associated education related to minoring in Psychology, I do believe that I will be equipped to further my material well-being and career - I am not saying that these are not valid engagements or need to be further defended - what I am challenging myself to see is where beyond the employment / career options might my education take me? I think it will help me in various ways, but one of those ways is in marketing projects and/or books that stand to defend the word of God. This is one of the major benefits of learning how to market the materials that my partners and myself will produce in the future.
Often many of us will aim to impress our family and friends in various ways, but we fail to realize that God is the only one you truly need to please. It is dangerous to fall into the trap of catering to the needs of every whim of others that we admire and fail to determine what it is God wants us to do. Approval addiction is a very real problem, and will hinder your personal happiness/fulfillment and also devastate your opportunities to truly stand up for God when it really counts.
Thankfully, if you are alive and reading this article, there is still time to make a U-turn for the better if you are not already living a life of meaning. When we give every aspect of ourselves over for God to take care of, through a relationship with His Son Jesus Christ, we are tapping into the authority of the Creator of the Universe to live more abundantly. Remember that God doesn't guarantee that the path will be easy, nor will the storms of life cease to rock us from time to time, what it means is that we have a friend to rely on in our times of great necessity
When the trials and tribulations do show their face, we know that we will triumph over them in God's perfect will and timing. What does it matter if we are doing well on the surface in our finances and health, when deep in our soul we are in dire need of a relationship with the One who gave us life? Keep in mind that we come into this world naked, and we leave it the same way.
I am challenging myself, alongside all of you today, to take inventory of what kind of legacy you are leaving behind. Are you spending time and resources wisely in a manner that would make God proud of you or are you busying yourself with the distractions around you that are constantly trying to strain you and take away your energy for doing Godly activities. Let's not fall victim to making excuses or deferring our actions for God any further, today is the day that we need to grab a hold of the situations God has given each of us and do our absolute best with what we have.
How many of us can boldly state the following: "I am exercising my gifts, talents, and resources in order to further God's kingdom on a constant basis." I know that I may be doing this to an extent with my ministry with Jim Sager on FSS and in daily living, but I would be lying if I didn't say there was extensive room for improvement. I do not claim to hold a secret recipe for maximizing every moment and keeping perfect efficiency intact, but at least I can hold on to the fact that I am indeed trying my best to do this.
Let's choose to walk triumphantly in the straight and narrow path that God has laid before us and overcome the hurdles of laziness, addictions, distractions, and excuses. We need to remember that we are:
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:37 (NIV)
Nothing more needs to be said, we can conquer all these obstacles in the name of Jesus Christ, and we need to consistently exercise our right to do so. By the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on the cross so that we may be saved, we are all sons and daughters of a living God who loves each and every one of us. Receive His free gift today, and prepare yourself for the life the transformation that will come alongside.
Whether you are a seasoned Christian or a new believer feel free to contact Jim Sager and I at: [email protected]. We treat our e-mail seriously, and will likely respond to you in a very short time frame. We appreciate your questions, thoughts, and concerns regarding our site and would love to hear from you!
God bless you all!
Victor Nunez (www.fatherspiritson.com)