As Christians we are called to be set apart, to live in the world but not be of the world. Jesus tells us to be like a light set upon the hillside, shining His love into the dark and troubled world in which we live. Being a Christian isn’t just something that we can claim to be. It requires action. Choices must be made to reveal that we do indeed love the Lord our God with all of our heart and mind.

Each one of us has a different type and amount of contact with the world around us. Some of us may work outside our home and have constant daily contact with people that do not know the Lord. There are others, like myself, who have less contact (at times) with the communities in which we live because we homeschool our children, run a family and/or online business that keep us busy in our homes. No matter how much time we spend each day in the world, outside our homes, we all have to make the same choice.

Are we seeking to please the people in the world or are we longing to serve the Lord while living in the world?

The beginning of Paul’s story was not a great one, but none of us will ever forget it. While I won’t ever forget the fact that he persecuted Christians to the point of death before he met the Lord, that isn’t what I think of when I remember Paul’s life. I remember how he finished. 

Paul didn’t let the choices of his past weigh him down. After he became a follower of Christ he longed to share the salvation of Christ. In Galatians 1:15-17 he shares what happened after God called him…

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

He didn’t waste anytime. He didn’t even meet with any of the apostles before hitting the road. Paul longed to serve the Lord and he didn’t care what people thought about him. (v.10)  He didn’t stop and think about what people would say when they found out that he claimed to be a Christian. (v. 21-23) God had taken hold of him and Paul knew what He was calling him to do. 

Do you know what God is calling you to do?

Right now, God is calling me back to writing here. In this little corner web. So, here I am. I could not ignore the longing that He placed in my heart to serve Him here. It may not be outside the walls of my home physically, but with God and the internet, the words that God gives me to write can reach the world.

Have you wasted time in the world, seeking to please, instead of longing to serve?

I know I have. But, I’m here now and thanks to God’s forgiveness and grace, choices of my past don’t have to weigh me down or keep me from moving forward serving Him. There will be times when I will be sad over the time I’ve lost, but I am going to strive to be a little like Paul and let the past lie.

I don’t want my regrets of yesterday to keep me from serving the Lord today. So, I’m choosing to move on, leaving yesterday behind me, by putting one foot in front of the other in the direction in which He’s guiding me.

Will you join me? Serving the Lord has a much greater reward than anything this world has to offer. Seeking to please the people of the world will leave us exhausted and empty because as Christians we will only find true fulfillment when we focus on the Lord and His ways.