If you were to list the ways your life has been useful for this world, what are some things you would write on your list? Raising your kids? Becoming a helpful person? Teaching someone an important skill? It can be a challenge to be useful in this life. We can’t all create a cure for a disease or bring about peace between warring nations. So how can we truly have a useful and purposeful life?
The truth is, when we give our lives to God, God will find a way to bless our efforts. In this way, as we live for God, God uses us. Jesus told us in Matthew 16:24-25, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.’” We wrongly think that we need to do things for ourselves, and then we will be happy and find our purpose. The truth is, we must give ourselves to Christ who will guide our way and lead us into a purposeful life.
God cannot use us when we seek our own way, but only when we humble ourselves and live for God. This is because when we follow the way we think we should go, we are not open to God’s way; we have hardened our hearts towards God whether we realize it or not. This world leads us astray causing us to think that we are on our own to find meaning. God gives our life meaning; God gives our relationships meaning; God gives our work meaning.
Our ultimate call in life is to worship God. The life and death of Jesus helps us to do this. As we come to know Jesus, life makes sense, because we can see this life in the context of the eternal. We cannot see the eternal without accepting Jesus as our Savior and our Lord. Life will never make sense without this kind of awareness.
One of the best ways that God can use us is to help someone else come to know Jesus. When we can help another receive Jesus, God truly uses us and gives our life purpose! Blessings.
