The Advent Series #7. What is your Vision for your Life?

 

What is your Vision for your Life?

What is your vision for your life? Think about that for a moment! When you come to the end of your days, what do you hope you look back on? Many of us are focused on the wrong things, or more concretely, our personal vision is often too small. 

Jesus loved to simply invite people to come follow Him. And amazingly, many did. His band of twelve included people from many walks of life. Ordinary people. In fact, very ordinary people from society's point of view. But Jesus was inviting them to something big and bold. To join Him in building His kingdom. In fact, this was His announcement: The Kingdom of God is upon us.

In Matthew 6:25-34, Jesus has a conversation around one of the most significant issues we all face: anxiety and worry about life including whether we will have enough and the whole pursuit of wealth and security. All of us have lived there or do live there. But Jesus says, don't worry about all that. Your Father knows your needs. And then He challenges the listeners to elevate their thinking to a higher place and a higher vision. "But seek his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." 

Basically, He is saying, your vision for your life can be about you or it can be about God and what He is accomplishing on this earth. The first is common and mundane. The second is an amazing opportunity to join Him in changing our world and bringing His values to the places we have influence, work and inhabit. 

The incarnation is an invitation to a life of much greater meaning and significance. It is no longer about us but about joining Him in His work in our world. It is the difference between our own small dreams and God's transformational work to change what is to what He designed it to be.

This is why Paul writes in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." The word "workmanship" there means a unique work of art. You are unique. You are one of a kind. You have been gifted with unique gifts which God prepared in advance for you. Why? He wants you to join Him in His work - His Kingdom work and to join Him in changing our world and bringing His values to the places we have influence, work and inhabit. 

That is a life of significance. Don't settle for the common and ordinary. Accept the invitation of the incarnate God - Jesus - to join Him in what He is going to accomplish in our world. It is desperately needed!

Father, help me not settle for small dreams but to join you in all that you are going to accomplish in our world. Help me follow you fully and use the unique gifts you have given me for your purposes in this world. Amen

What is your vision for you life?

It is amazing how quickly and easily we fall into the trap of living without a great deal of thought as to what we are after, the choices we are making or the significance of what we say yes and no to. Without a vibrant vision for our lives we end up living accidentally rather than intentionally - wasting the promise of our days.

God gave us gifts and purpose. Paul puts it this way in Ephesians 2:10. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing. (The Message translation).

He created us for something special and unique. I often talk to individuals who are searching for something that they can contribute to others, to society or to God's work. What they sense they are missing, without knowing it is the purpose that God created them for. When we don't live out that purpose, we sense that something is missing and we often try to fill that missing piece without realizing that what is missing is our living out God's vision for our lives.

We often make the mistake of thinking that we cannot make much of a difference in our world. The truth is that in God's economy, ordinary people like you and I make a profound difference for Jesus in the small ways that we answer His call to contribute to those around us using the ways that He has uniquely gifted us. 

How do we know how He has gifted us? Here are some ways to figure that out:

• What am I most passionate about?
• What am I really good at and when I do it I feel like I am in my lane?
• What do others see in me and compliment me for?
• If I could do anything with my life, what would it be?

The answers to these questions give us clues as to how He wants us to contribute to His Kingdom work. Our job is to find ways in which we can do that.

We need a vision for our lives that transcends just living. A vision that gives our lives eternal significance as we join Him in His work in our world. A world that desperately needs healing, hope, help, peace through the involvement of His people. 

The most happy and satisfied people I know are those who choose to live at the intersection of their God given gifting and God's call on their lives. 

Do you have a vision for your life that includes those places where you can contribute to God's work in our world?