Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Treasure in the Box

If you knew what you had, what would you do? If you knew the gift that you had or the treasure that was inside of you, how would that change how you live your life now? If you were uniquely gifted to make a specific impact on the world in which you live, how would that cause you to adjust your lifestyle? Each of us are uniquely made by our Creator for a purpose that He prepared for in advance. God did not create us for our own happiness. He is Creator. He created us for His happiness. We are to exalt Him. We are to bring glory to His name. In the process, we do not go lacking. He offers an abundance of mercy and grace, as well as that thing we need the most, forgiveness. Yet in Him, we do not have to pursue happiness; because He offers eternal life and joy for the taking of everyone that receives the Son as Lord and Savior. “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Again, what do we do? As followers of Jesus, we need to take some quiet time and step back, and observe how God has gifted each one of us. He has resourced each one of His children to get His kingdom work done. Instead of using our giftedness for our own selfish purposes, we should use our unique make-up for God’s special purposes. “He died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and was raised again.”(2Cor.5:15) The follower of Jesus is to live for Jesus. We are commanded to “go and make disciples” of Jesus. We do this using what He has given us. “We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us.”(Eph.2:10) God had you and me in mind when He created us for such a time as this. More thought for Him needs to go into our daily life: how we spend our time, use our talents and invest into His kingdom work. We go to job fairs, college counselors and take tests to see what career we are suited for. It is ridiculous that we rarely consult our Creator on what He would have us do. We need to ask the question: “Why would God have gifted me so?” Even Jesus brought glory to God the Father on earth “by completing the work you gave me to do.” (Jn.17:4) So, what does God want you to do? Don’t leave the treasure in the box. Use what the good Lord gave you for His glory!