Meaningful: Having meaning; having a serious, important, or useful quality or purpose
What does it mean to pursue something that is meaningful? In our world, we often treat everything we pursue as something meaningful because, well, it’s meaningful to us in some way. This should concern us because not everything has weight or a gravity to it that should be categorized as such. Think through your daily routines and seriously consider all of the things you do that should properly be labeled as meaningful. The daily habits of our life could likely use an overhaul and some renegotiating with our minds to lay out a better situation for us. After talking with a brother about habits, he led me to begin diving into the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. I have not gotten around to reading it yet, but it is available at Walmart in hardback for those of you that may be interested in checking it out. Before I bought the book, I wanted to see what it was all about. The one thing that stood out to me in a video summary of the book I found on YouTube was this idea of becoming 1% better every day that leads to dramatically large results over time. This is essentially the message behind why I started this blog.
Stewardship In All Things is the idea that we need to be a steward of all things in all areas of life in order to glorify God and fully enjoy the blessings He has given us. Stewardship is not easy because it is a responsibility and not for leisure. There are some people that love working out for fun, and there are definitely some that enjoy becoming mentally sharp, but for the most part it is all a grind that we all must endure. That grind lets us know it has meaning and purpose. If our time was spent having fun all of the time, would it be categorized as something with a greater purpose in mind? Are those tasks or talents something that would have significant usefulness in a world where we are called to be good stewards or even just disciples of The Lord?
In the book of Titus, we get to chapter three and he hits us with a bomb when it comes to what we are to pursue and what actually has purpose:
At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone. (Titus 3:3-8)
We are quickly reminded of from where we came and Who we have been saved by and what we have been saved to. Due to our complete foolishness when we were enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures, left to ourselves we would continue down a road of false hope and vain efforts to do anything that is truly considered good. The Lord had other plans and saved us in spite of ourselves through mercy to a renewal of our minds and going from slaves of our useless pursuits to heirs of the throne. Royalty does not live in disarray and a standard is placed for us. We must pursue the things in this life that has meaning, and first and foremost that is our Savior, Christ Jesus. Titus wraps it all up with “I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.”
He wants us to stress these things? “Great… another thing to stress over.” That may have been your thought upon reading that. Why would he want us to stress these things? When I read this for the 4th or 5th time, it reminded me of all the things that I stress over now in comparison to what I am instructed to stress in holy scripture. The things I am asking to stress over are what I mentioned earlier: Remembering from where I came, Who I have been saved by, What I have been saved from and what I have been saved to. Stressing these things will remind me of my ultimate purpose in life and what God has laid before me to actually put heavy thought and emotion into. The things I am currently stressing that have no fruit of the spirit within it, that is what we will discuss in the next post.
The things that are expedient will be the topic of the next post as I am splitting this particular “rule” to show the significance of true meaning and expedient pursuits. Until next time, pay attention to your daily habits. Focus on what you put a lot of emphasis on to complete and what you are stressing over. Are they meaningful? Are they worthy to be called “excellent and profitable for everyone” as The Word of God tells us? If they aren’t, they may not be as meaningful as you think they are and may need an examination to determine if they are part of the purpose God has set before you.
Comments
Post a Comment