Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24
When I am the strongest in my faith and walking most closely with the Lord, I am spending quiet time with Him in the morning in prayer, I am spending time studying His word, I am leading and/or attending a bible study, I am attending corporate prayer meetings at church…I am immersed in the things of God.
Someone said to me recently, well that is easy for you, you have no children at home and all you really have is work.
Well, I might agree, except that I was doing all of these same things, plus leading a Sunday school class and a youth group, and raising our children when they were young. So, I kinda struggle when you try to tell me why there is not time to pursue God fervently, because of a lack of time trying to raise children and have a family.
If God and the things of Him (i.e. studying His word, serving Him, being a servant at your church and a part of a bible study) are what you are putting on the back burner to “raise your children and have a family”, don’t be surprised when your marriage suffers and you can no longer communicate effectively with your mate and when you end up committing time to praying for the salvation of your adult children later because you are fearful for their very lives. (But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3).
The reason you should not be surprised is that you have already shown your children and your spouse that the things of this world (i.e Television shows, recreational activities, having a house that matches the neighbors, having material things and working extra to pay for them) are more important than God and them (“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect”.).
Examine your heart and if your family means as much as you claim they do, show them that God is the most important thing in your life so that He will be the most important thing in theirs too. He’s going to be here a lot longer than you are and He can be with them in places that you can’t go.
Now that I am older and my husband and I do not have children at home, we have to make time to see them and we have to make time to spend with Grandbabies. But we also have to steward the time that we have in a manner that serves God. Our lives belong to Him and are to be used for His glorification (“and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God.” 1Corinthians 3:23).
So, yes, we have work, we have all of the things that I previously mentioned that immerse us in the Lord and His work, but we also have outreach ministries. Things that we do, that He calls us to, that will allow us to evangelize, glorify and or just be His hands and feet.
Serving the Lord is no passive undertaking. It requires action, obedience, devotion and a strong desire to be used by Him. But there is no work more rewarding than serving God and advancing His kingdom. (“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” Colossians 3:23)
I guess my question to you is who are you serving? God or yourself? And, if you think that you are serving yourself, have I got news for you! You are serving the enemy. You can’t serve yourself, it is impossible. Either you have died to self and are living for Christ (“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20), or you are pretending to live for yourself and are actually doing the bidding of the enemy. (“In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 1 Corinthians 4:4) (Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7) .
I pray that today we would begin to serve God with our whole hearts. That our family, friends, coworkers, grocery store clerks would all see Christ in us. That we would make Him our first thought from the moment our eyes open in the morning until they close at night. I pray that we would be about our fathers business (as Jesus was), not our own business or in other words the enemy’s (And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” Luke 2:49). Seek to serve Him! For great is your reward.
If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and savior, I pray that you would go to our Life Preserver page (https://forgiven-n-loved.com/life-preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outline there. once you pray that prayer please reach out to me at admin@forgiven-n-loved.Com and let me know so that I can be praying for you and helping you grow in your relationship with and knowledge of our precious Lord Jesus Christ.
Luv Ya!
