I once read an article in a business magazine about wealthy people and how busy many of them are. Private jets come in handy when there's a meeting in New York, a production line to oversee in California, and clients to pursue in Japan. Yet there's one thing we ALL have in common with the wealthy...24 hours. No more, no less. You can easily see the direction your life is going with the way you spend your 24. Certainly you can't impact the world lazing around, procrastinating, fantasizing, and wishing for your dream come true.
Before there were planes, trains, or automobiles one person managed to spend his life from birth to death making impact. Using his feet, the support of 12 friends (even the one who betrayed him had a purpose), and word of mouth advertising he was so effective we still talk about, worship, and study him today. You know who it is...Jesus! How in the world did he have the time to teach at age 12, cultivate relationships, have a lucrative carpentry business, heal people, raise the dead, and still be at peace with himself?! Yes, I know he is God, but he was also human. Can we do what he did? I believe the answer is emphatically YES! Jesus left an instruction book with no hidden answers. I found His process and if put to use, we can be effective in our calling too!
1. Get away from the crowd (sometimes). Luke 4:42 says that after Jesus healed and set free ALL night, when it was day, "he departed and went into a deserted place."
2. Know your position. People love to follow greatness, especially when you're living out your life's purpose. In the same verse above, the crowd came looking for him and "tried to keep him from leaving them." The crowd never gets tired and will demand more of your time and attention at your expense. Wasn't he just with them ALL night?
3. Know your purpose, stay focused and don't be influenced, no matter how enticing the offer. Luke 4:43 teaches that Jesus wisely resisted the crowd. Here he was a celebrity, with people pulling for him and begging him to stay, yet he told them "I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent."
4. Retreat often. Greatness and influence require rejuvenation. Luke 5:16 says "so He himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed." Because his priorities were in check, Jesus knew where His strength was and visited often to recharge and receive further instruction for the work He had to do.
So can you do it? Absolutely. Will it be easy? Probably not. Is it worth it? Most definitely. Jesus set the example for us to follow, with only 33 years to do it. No matter what your age, if you're not living purposefully, you're wasting time. Nobody asked you to raise the dead. Just raise your level of performance to be the best you can be.
reference: Lori_R._Bell
No comments:
Post a Comment