A Successful Christian Life

Would you say that you have a successful Christian life? How would you define one? Would it mean that you read your Bible and pray every day, attend church every week, pay your tithe, give to missions, work Saturdays at the local charity house or tell others about Christ? These are all certainly good things. They are godly and honorable things. It would surely take a portion of your life away to give these things to God. In fact, you could say they are things that you sacrifice for His kingdom. These works are all good works. These efforts of sacrifice are all legitimate in the Christian life. But do they make you a success at it?

Two thousand years ago, scripture says that Jesus astonished the people with the answers that he gave to the religious leaders’ questions. Jesus was a threat to their power because He spoke with authority and truth. An expert in the law tested Jesus with a question. He asked Jesus what the greatest of all instruction was from God. In essence, “Boil it all down for us Jesus.” After Jesus gave the answer, scripture states a mere five verses later, “…and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.” So what was Jesus’ summary instruction?

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  Matthew 22:34-40 NLT

Jesus gave us the secret for a successful Christian life! He said to love God with all you are and love those around you as much as your own self. Imagine for a moment what you would be like if you dedicated your time and energy to simply loving God with your whole heart, soul and mind. What if you engaged Jesus Christ with every waking hour of your day; if you centered your thoughts and your decisions on Him? How would you feel if you praised Him throughout the day and prayed openly and often to Him from dawn till dusk? How would you act if you began to treat Him as your best friend who was always right there with you – living life by your side?

If you did that, you would be energized by the Holy Spirit to do the things that He would want you to do. And what He would want you to do is to love your neighbor as your own self. He would want you to show the love of Christ to those around you; the same love that He has shown to you. You see, God doesn’t need our money. He doesn’t need our church attendance or our help at the food bank. What He desires first-and-foremost is our obedience. He has tasked us with loving Him completely. He wants our primary focus to be on Him. He knows that if this is our core mission then everything else will follow. Your sacrifice (your works) is good, but your obedience to loving God and others is better than your sacrifice.

Make sure that your works stem from the roots of your personal relationship with God. Nurture and grow the seed that was planted with your salvation in Christ. Water your Christian life by simply spending your time with God. Make Him your absolute best friend. Engage Him in everything you do each day. That relationship with Jesus is the most precious thing you can offer Him in your life. To give Him this, makes you a success already. He’ll add the "Miracle Grow" when He sees that you are ready!

Recommended reading: 1 Samuel Chapter 15

Recommended music video (an oldie but goodie):  http://youtu.be/TzWyZxlwGKI