READ: John 15
Constantine the Great; John Wycliffe; Joan of Arc; William Tyndale; Mother Teresa; Billy Graham. These people are well known for the what they accomplished in their lifetime.
I don’t know how many of you are like me? I often wonder what people are going to say about me when I die. I hope and pray that they will say, how much I loved the Lord and what I did brought glory to God. More than just the cliché, “she was a such a good person”.
Today let’s take an evaluation of what we are doing for the ‘glory of God’. How are we being ‘productive’. Because as the scripture in todays reading reminds us, “use it or lose it”.
Live with a passion. Live with a mission. Live lives that ‘matter’. Live bringing glory to God. Infuse your life with a godly ambition. And leave a God legacy.
If we were to grasp that everything we do has an eternal affect, I wonder how we would do things differently. And remember that ‘we are not promised tomorrow’. Sobering thoughts.
So now you ask, how can I know my life has been or is productive?
2 Peter 1:5-8 New King James Version (NKJV)
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
VIRTUE – behavior showing high moral standards
KNOWLEDGE – practical understanding of a subject
SELF CONTROL – the ability to control one’s emotions, behavior, and desires
PERSERVERANCE – steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty
GODLINESS – conforming to the laws and wishes of God
BROTHERLY KINDNESS – the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate
LOVE – an intense feeling of deep affection (not a strong definition of love in my opinion but the best I could find in writing)
And a moto for us all to live by is:
“You know you really can do better, all YOU have to do is TRY”!