Purposeful Living - 1 Corinthians 7.40

PURPOSEFUL LIVING – 1 Corinthians 7.40

In “An Obituary for a Focused Life” we entertained the notion of our life and legacy—how we would like to be remembered. In September, 2006, I officiated at my dear mother’s funeral. Writing about the sum total of her life was an enriching, clarifying experience for me. I pray it will be for you as well. As her children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews lauded her 90 years on this planet, two themes emerged:

*She loved God, and lived her life like she thought he would have wanted—*She loved others and took pleasure serving them. Those were her priorities . . . and she lived them out passionately. They shaped her life into purposeful living. What is your purpose?

Do you live life on purpose, and does that purpose establish your priorities ? Stop and ask yourself those two questions, and answer them very honestly.

Here’s why: when we know our purpose and establish our priorities for living accordingly, we are less likely to be pushed and pulled by distraction. Distraction?

Some of us just think we have attention deficit issues . . . as we regularly race first here and then there . . . but the reality is, interruptions to a well-charted course are expected, but distractions that pull us from our priorities happen most often when we are not living according to a meaningful purpose.

Do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible – we are able to serve the Lord best when we know and live according to his purpose for us… when we establish our priorities, both in the big picture, and also on a daily basis.

Understanding what elements matter most

setting priorities around them,

and filtering out non-essential externalities help folks

remain focused. Hmmm. . . From a business blog on Capture Your Flag.com

So, what is your purpose? How will you determine it? Can you see how it would frame up your life?

Where to start - May I humbly suggest that we start with what our Messiah said were the two greatest commandments? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, AND Love your neighbor as yourself.” (interestingly enough, those describe my mother for me)

‘Tough to love God with all our heart without knowing him, so with that as our highest value, we want to make it our priority to get to know him—through what he has told us in his Word, and through private communication with him. It is in these that we come to know of God’s great love for us, and knowledge of his great love for us changes us. When God becomes our passion, that passion draws us to him. It motivates us to set priorities such as making time to spend with him in the quiet of the morning. Making that a priority may mean eliminating something else, but hey, that’s what prioritizing is all about!

Here’s the carrot, Friends~ When we know our purpose and establish our priorities to promote that passion, we can know contentment. Ahh . . . now we’re talkin’.

Sweet contentment....tomorrow.

Christine

podcast: www.pastorwoman.com