DENNIS GINGERICH

For many of us, the clock and the calendar are not our friends. Our time is always getting shorter. I’ve met plenty of folks who have a depressing and mind-numbing sense that their effort, or even their presence, is pointless. Even those with many achievements have their doubts. They secretly wonder if they have any relevance. Questioning if their life really matters.

I love to go back to this great truth from scripture: “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT). We are more than blobs. We are poems of God (literally the meaning of the word masterpiece in the original text). God is still creatively writing the chapters of your life. And He has planned for you to live on purpose.

But if you and I are not intentional, the seconds tick on, the minutes go by, the hour hand sweeps around, a new day starts and before you know it, the fire works are igniting at the stroke of midnight and another year is forever gone. The sobering reality is that our lives are slipping away and we are all called to “live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work” (Colossians 1:10 NIV).  A life worthy of our calling.  A life lived with fruitfulness and significance. The opposite of pointless.

Purposeful living must be intentional. Relevance is intentional. It doesn’t just happen. What does just happen is a pointless life lived in pursuit of artificial treasures and short-lived peace. A purpose-filled life takes some hard work in the beginning. You need to discover and lock on to your purpose. And then it just takes a lot of consistent proclamations of “yes” to the best things  and “no” to even the good things that take us off mission.

So let me ask this pointed question: On the continuum between pointless and relevant, where does your current work and focus in life fall?  Are you doing what makes your heart sing? If there’s anything about  your answers that you don’t like, what next?

QUESTION: What has helped you most to stay on point in living you’re your calling? Your experience will likely help all our readers. Thanks for sharing it below.