Written by Mark Driskill:
Monday, May 9, 2011
Read Romans 1:1

If you were going to sum up the entire point of your life in one sentence what would it say?  Let’s say you were going to put it on a bumper sticker for your car, or at the top of the windshield of your truck.  It’s always interesting to read those things. Sometimes I read the things people stick on their cars and wonder what kind of life they have.  I find myself trying to imagine the life behind the bumper sticker.  One person has “I hate Obama” another “My son is a U.S. Marine.”  One says, “I’m a Holy Ghost believer” and another “Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound.”  One says, “My child is an honor student” and another “My kid beat up your honor student.”  I’m not making judgments just curious about how people see their lives.

How would you summarize the theme of your life in one sentence?  In ancient times letters were often written with something like a life summary at the beginning.  An emperor for example may write something like this: Bubba the Great, ruler of the lower regions, son of Earl the mighty, let all who read this fear him.

Kind of a cool way of letting people know who you are and what you are all about isn’t it. Today we don’t write letters like that we just tell people who we are, or at least who we imagine ourselves to be, through bumper stickers, and T-shirts, and our Facebook status. The Apostle Paul would often start off his letters with a simple introduction of himself and his life purpose. My favorite introduction is found in his letter to the church at Rome.  In the beginning of his letter he writes, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, Called to be an Apostle, Set apart for the gospel of God.”  I wonder how that would look on his windshield if he had lived today?  Not sure it would all fit.  In his introduction he answers three questions that we perhaps should ask ourselves: Who do you work for? What are you called to do? And What sets you apart? For Paul it was simple, He works for Jesus Christ, He is called to be an apostle, and he is set apart for the gospel. What about you?

Who or what are you giving your life in service to? Are you serving something larger than yourself or are you wasting away under the tyranny of an empty lifestyle? Many are serving an addiction that is slowly eating away at their lives. They try to tell themselves they are having a good time, but all the while everyone and everything they love is fading away right under their noses. How sad.

Second, what are you called to do with your life? Many people have no sense of calling at all. They think life is nothing more than survival until you die. They have no idea that God created them for a specific purpose and they will only find fulfillment in fulfilling their God given calling.

Third, What sets you apart. You know we all want to feel that our lives are set apart for something greater than ourselves. God put that desire within us to drive us toward him and his purpose. This is why no matter how hard you try you will never be satisfied with a self centered life. Living for yourself just creates a whole in your soul that gets larger, not smaller, with time.

Friend one day you will stand before God and the sentence that sums up your life will be read. When that happens you will step into eternity, an unending existence either separated from God or united with God forever.

Be very careful what you allow to be the main point of your life. If it’s all about the party, a day will come when the party is over and you will be found with a party bill you can’t pay. If it’s all about the money and the power, a day will come when you will see what real power is, but you will be powerless. If it’s all about self righteous religion with no saving faith, a day will come when you hear the master say, “depart from me, I never knew you.” How sad that say will be. But if you have Christ as the main theme of the sentence of your life you will see his face and hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.”

So again I ask you. What’s the point of your life. What is the sentence that best defines who you are and what you are about? I’ll close with another bumper sticker I read awhile back: “This life will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” Are you living for something that’s lasting?

Pastor Mark Driskill
Web Minister of Begotten by the Word web ministry
See our website at http://ourchurch.com/member/b/bbtw
and www.facebook.com (to group “Begotten by the Word”)
Begotten by the word is a ministry of Helping Hands Christian resources-Evangelism Outreach www.hhcr05.org
(Feel free to copy in any way that will bring glory to God and further his kingdom.)

Contact information:
Email: driskill@hilbillymail.com
Facebook: Mark Driskill
Address: PO Box 1159 Jackson KY.