The Three R’s of a Life Committed to Christ
“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’” Matthew 25:21a
As I enter the final twelve days of my tenure as Senior Pastor of Evergreen SGV, I have been reflecting two things: God’s goodness over the past forty-two years and my role in God’s plan. I firmly believe that God had a plan and I was a part of His plan for Evergreen from the very beginning to the very end.
It’s been interesting that in the past few days I have read different versions of the same theme regarding a retrospective view of one’s life. I have no idea who to credit for this sage advice, but I read about the final epitaph of a missionary who was to be martyred. Most recently, I read it in an article by Dr. Steven C. Riser, retired Senior Pastor of New Beginning EPC (Evangelical Presbyterian Church).
Here’s what one martyred believer wrote, No Reserves, No Retreats, No Regrets.
No Reserves.
We should be willing to give our all to Jesus. Romans 12:1 says, “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” This verse calls us to offer our entire body as a living sacrifice to God. We should allow the Lord to use us in any way He sees fit. Our willingness becomes our willing sacrifice to Him.
No Retreats.
We should be willing to always press on for the sake of Christ. Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13-14, “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
The world and life itself is filled with distractions, discouragements and discontentment. The world is a noisy place to live. It is easy to revoke our sacrificial living for the sake of ease. The way to “press on” is to “press into” Jesus. His resurrection power will sustain us.
No Regrets.
In last week’s blog, I shared about finishing the race from 2 Timothy 4:7 where Paul stated, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith…” Finishing a marathon has its rewards whether the runner finished first or last. For most runners, just completing the course well is reward enough.
In my opinion, finishing with no regrets is an important ingredient to a life lived well for Christ. To be sure, there will be some regrets. But, trying to wholeheartedly live and serve as Jesus would want us live and serve has its own reward… the voice of the Lord saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:21.
So may we live a life of No Reserve, No Retreat and No Regret.
Something to think about…