Living A Godly Life

“Your life is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God.”

– unknown

“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God...”

- 1 Peter 2:11-12

As I get older, I am learning more each day to not take things for granted. My life, my health, and my family are all gifts from God. I didn’t do a thing to deserve them, and no matter how hard I try, I can never do enough to repay God for what He has given to me.

However, I still want to live my life for God and be a testimony to those around me as to who He is. Not because it improves my standing in His eyes, but because it is one small way to offer my life back to him in gratitude for what He has done for me. It is not always easy.

Living for Jesus does not always match up with the values and goals of this world. It is far easier to live like the rest of the world, where selfishness and self-centeredness are the focus – what’s in it for me?

Peter exhorts us to abstain (stay away) from sinful desires… the pursuit of material possessions, status, fame, lust, greed, wealth, etc. Instead, we are to live godly lives where the world, even when it misunderstands us or even seeks to attack us, is forced to recognize the good in us - not for our own reward, but to point the way to God.

The words “surrender” and “humility” are not comfortable words in our culture.

The world elevates words like control, power, authority and confidence, the very words that put us on the throne of our lives and relegate God to a second or third position.

Surrender and humility mean taking ourselves off the throne, putting God on it, and trusting Him always, regardless of the outcome and regardless of “what’s in it for me.”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my life to be defined by the values of this world. I desire to live for Jesus, where my thoughts, my words, my deeds, and even my attitudes, reflect who He is to me...my Savior and my God. It is a process, a journey, but one I want to continue to embrace, one day at a time, for the remainder of my days on earth.

Will you join me?

Pastor Ken

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