My Life’s Song
Many people that know me know of my extreme affinity (some would say borderline obsession) for the band Switchfoot. They’ve always made some awe-inspiring, life-changing music and this song is no exception. I’ve made this my life’s song because it poses this one question: “So what are you going to do now?”
Yes, I know that it may be cliched to declare this as my life’s song as so many other people have (and I may have written about this before), but the fact remains the same. My God has given me this awesome shot at this life, so what am I going to do with it? Will I live for myself, developing a case of “affluenza” where I try to gain everything in material possessions? Or will my life be a blessing to others, encouraging them to follow the Gospel? I choose the latter.
When I consider what I’ve been given, I can’t be complacent. I’ve been truly blessed to never have to want for anything, to have a full-time job that pays my rent and leaves me a little money to save, to have recently been BLESSED with a NEW CAR to replace Agatha (my Oldsmobile hoopty), and to have the opportunity to serve in one of the most amazing churches in history. The thing is, none of this can be done for my benefit, it’s all gotta point straight to Jesus. I can’t take credit or aggrandize myself for one second because when I do, then my ministry means absolutely nothing.
This all came flooding into my life as I’ve realized on the drive back home from church how much I’ve been blessed since serving at Lifepoint. “Dare You To Move” came up on the CD player as it did right after I was baptized at Fort Fisher last July. The question that came up in my life was, “So what are you going to do with what you’ve been given?” And that’s exactly the question my pastor posed to Lifepoint Church tonight. Most churches when talking about finances go into a sort of prosperity gospel, preaching “if you give this, then God will bless you with this” while the pastor is wearing gold everywhere. People are turned off by this and that’s what Lifepoint realizes. The main point that our pastor made was that, we’re at this point in our finances right now, imagine the impact we can make if we all step up in our generosity.
There is no way that I can rest on my laurels with what I’ve been given; I need to constantly be thinking of ways that I can give back what God has given me. Even when all has gone wrong and my life is like a country song, God’s still on his throne. I need to be obedient with what I’ve been given in the here and now if I want to be a leader in ministry someday. The end goal is Jesus and I need to focus everything I have on him, then and only then will my life be a blessing and will I truly get a chance to impact this world in a positive way.
This was so encouraging to read, bro! I love that song too. Switchfoot was one of the first bands I really grabbed on to when I started walking with Christ. Stoked to hear how the Lord has been blessing you and teaching you.