"Because He lives I can face tomorrow
Because He lives all fear is gone
Because I know He holds the future
And life is worth the living just because He lives."
There's nothing particularly earth-shattering about those lyrics to an old hymn, but it was while singing them that God spoke to me, yesterday. When Christians go through something difficult, we often remark to each other, "I don't know how people who don't know Jesus get through this." It's true. There's nothing like that "peace that passes understanding" which only comes from the Holy Spirit. We feel His presence giving us strength and His guidance when we don't know what to do next. We also know that those of us who follow Jesus will be with Him in heaven, one day, and that is certainly a comforting thought. But while those things are amazing reasons that I'd rather have Jesus than anything else, it was something else that hit me like a ton of bricks, yesterday... I have a purpose. What I do with my life, as I try to follow Jesus and do the things He wants me to do, has eternal significance. This world is not my home. There is great blessing and joy and excitement here, but it's not what I'm living for. No matter what happens to me in this life, my day-to-day, year-to-year purpose is to do the will of God - to worship Him and lead others to do the same. That's it. Everything else is just icing. If I lose a job or a family member or an appendage, but I still have breath in my lungs, my purpose hasn't changed. In fact, I'm counting on God using those things for His glory. Does it mean that I won't grieve? Of course not! There is a time for that, and Jesus grieved deeply. But it does not give me the right to be debilitated. There is work to do, and I want to do my part. I have been bought with a price, and my life is not my own.
