A Wasted Life
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:19-21
Over
the years I have often wondered if the things I have done counted for anything
to the Lord. Since I gave my heart to
Jesus many years ago, I have been very active in ministry. I played piano for church, taught Bible
classes, directed choirs, produced a television program and had a radio
program. Wow! It makes me tired when I think about it now.
If I gave
myself points for each thing I’ve done, it might add up to a fairly high
number, but when I stand before the Lord someday and ask him how many points I
have, he might say zero! You see, He
doesn’t look at the things we have done – he looks at the heart. I must admit that there were times I did things
in self because I wanted to impress people. (Remember, pride can cause you to
fall away.) Then the Holy Spirit would
whisper quietly in my mind and remind me without Jesus I am nothing. I realized I had to put self away keep my
eyes on him if I were to do anything for the Kingdom of God.
My husband,
Jerry and I used to travel a great deal and minister to different Christian
groups. One time we were speaking at a
meeting in Indiana and we had an outline on what we were going to say. We felt pretty good about it as we walked up
to the podium. A short time later we
realized a couple of people were sleeping and the rest looked pretty
bored. We looked at each other and
realized we were trying to do this by ourselves. We folded up the paper and told the people we
were changing our talk and letting God take over. We began to minister from the heart and with
God guiding us, people came forward and gave their hearts to Jesus.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
(Proverbs
3:5-6) We are warned to not
attempt to do things for God by figuring out what we should do, but trust God
with our whole heart to lead us in the direction he wants us to go. Then don’t try to take credit for any of it,
but acknowledge that it was the Lord that gave it to you.
There are times the Lord calls you
to do something that you don’t want to do and you have a choice to make. God gives his children gifts and he expects
us to use them. In fact, in I Timothy 6:14 “Do not neglect the gift that
is in you….” God has a plan for
you and lays it out before you. What you
do with it is up to you; the only thing that matters is where your heart is in
this matter.
The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For
we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may
receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether
good or bad.” This is when you
will know if you have lived a wasted life or a life lived for Christ. Praise God for being a merciful and forgiving
Father who loves us.
If this teaching has touched your
heart, stop right now and ask the Lord to forgive you for not using the gifts
he has given you and for the times you did, but not with your heart. I know I ask God to forgive me and help me to
use my heart to minister in his power and not mine. Who knows what lives will be changed because
of your obedience?
Don’t let it be said of you, “He,
(or she) lived a wasted life.
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