“For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 1:9 NLT
The average human being has a straightforward life that involves more or less the following: birth, education, career, marriage, children and death. For some, if everything falls into place without too many obstacles, it will be considered a life well lived.
Yet, so many important factors are missing in that equation. A life lived without salvation, consecration to God and fulfilling purpose is a dead, ordinary and unfulfilled life. Let’s consider each of these in turn.
Firstly, we’ll consider the life of a man without salvation. It’s no life at all! There’s no way to sugar-coat it. Ephesians 2:1 describes a man without Christ as one who is dead in trespasses and sins. Ephesians 5:8 describes a person without the light of Christ as darkness. Only when we receive the life of Christ are we truly living.
Secondly, we can consider that this wonderful life-giving salvation is not just for one man but for the whole world. 1 Timothy 2:3-4 tells us that God would have all men saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. The work of God in Jesus Christ was the provision of salvation for the whole world.
Lastly, we must reckon that we have a role to play in God’s plan. Our anchor verse shows us that God saved us and called us to our lives for His holy calling. In other words, we live for the one who died for us (2 Corinthians 5:15). If the work of God in Christ is the provision of salvation, then His work in us should be the announcement of salvation to the whole world (2 Corinthians 5:19-20).
Understand this one thing, Christ’s death was not just so you could live and die unfulfilled. That would be a great tragedy. There’s more to life than a good job or good family life. You must reckon that the purpose of your life is announcing God’s work of salvation in His Christ. That’s a life well lived!
Bible Reading Plan:
Luke 20:1-8, Titus 3:9-15, Proverbs 16:17-33, Esther 5-6