Four True Reasons for Living

Four True Reasons For Living

"For me to live is Christ ..." Philippians 1:21

In his new book, WHAT ARE YOU LIVING FOR -- INVESTING YOUR LIFE IN WHAT MATTERS MOST, Pat Williams, Senior Vice-President of the Orlando Magic, suggest four trust reasons for living. He suggests that they four reason will help us as men "to give purpose and value to our lives so that we can know that our life has eternal significance."

Here are the four TRUE reasons for living:

"1. Character. God wants to shape and make us like Him. He wants our character to be like HIS character. The more we seek to pattern our lives after God, and after His Son, Jesus, the more we achieve His goal and purpose for our lives.

2. Influence. Our influence is the impact we have on the lives of others. Instead of living only for ourselves, God wants us to live for others and to pass on to the next generation our best traits, values, beliefs, and dreams for the future. Through our influence, the very best part of us lives on even after we physically die.

3. Parenting. Parenting is the process raising another generation to carry on our faith, values and meaningful traditions. Pat's definition of "parenting" includes any form of guiding, discipling, training, leading, encouraging and affirming your people, whether we are biologically related to them or not. (Some of you are grandparents -- we aren't off the hook!)

4. Faith. What do we believe in? How are we investing in our lives? Are we using our time in ways that will count for all eternity -- or are we merely marking time until time runs out? Our faith is our most important reason of all for living."

Pat is one of my heroes and favorite authors. But I think he leaves out the most important reason -- "For me to live is Christ ..." Unless that is the burning passion of my life, there is no way that I can even come close to fulfilling the other 4. Living for Christ and allowing Him to live HIS life through me is the REAL reason for living. Are you living for HIM today? If not, today is the day to start that relationship with HIM. -- Bill Welte is President and CEO of America's KESWICK

God's WORD for YOU: Proverbs 7; Genesis 18-19; Matthew 6:1-18

Great Quote: Grace remits sin and peace quiets the conscience. Sin and conscience torment us, but Christ has overcome these fiends now and forever. Only Christians possess this victorious knowledge given from above. These two terms, grace and peace, constitute Christianity. Grace involves the remission of sins, peace and a happy conscience. Sin is not canceled by lawful living, for no person is able to live up to the law…the fact is the more a person seeks credit for himself by his own efforts, the deeper he goes into debt. Nothing can take away sin except the grace of God. In actual living, however it is not so easy to persuade oneself that by grace alone, in opposition to every other means, we obtain the forgiveness of our sins and peace with God. --Martin Luther

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