How Do You Live for God?
My cousin Carrie Otte recently wrote this essay. I was so blessed by it I wanted to share it with you. It’s not every day that you meet a high schooler with this much wisdom!
There are two ways to live your life: God’s way or the world’s way. In the book Pilgrim’s Progress, Christian had to make the important decision of starting his pilgrimage to the Celestial City. Just as he did, we will also have to make the life-changing decision of either living for God or living for the world. Can you live in the world and not be of the world? Let’s search the evidence and see which path you should choose.
The path of living for the world will try to draw people, young and old, to vanity in how they should look: what size they should be or what they should wear. The world tries to make people believe that the world has everything they should desire, so they should live without limits while they are here. Young people are brainwashed from TV, radio, magazines, and books. Young people compare themselves to popular people who are what the world considers “perfect,” and if they compare themselves to them and they are different, they think that something is wrong. All that the people of this world care about is their outward appearance. Living for the world will not get you anywhere in life, but will get you stuck in a constant search for superficial perfection.
Living for the world will not get you anywhere in life, but will get you stuck in a constant search for superficial perfection.
The path of living for God is totally different. God wants His followers to spend their time on earth wisely because we do not know the hour that Jesus will return. In the Bible we learn that God focuses on our heart, so we should not try to draw the wrong kind of attention to ourselves. We should want to be noticed for our works for others and not for ourselves. Here is a list of things we can do to learn what God wants of us:
- Reading, memorizing, and meditating on God’s Word
- Praying, asking God to guide your path each day
- Seeking God’s will daily
Attending church and surrounding ourselves with godly people who will encourage us to walk with God will be beneficial for us when we have to make difficult decisions about our faith.
I believe that we can live in this world and not be of this world. Every day we make decisions that will affect our future. Many things we choose are temporary and will pass away, such as a big house, money, cars, etc. We need to put our faith in Jesus Christ because He is the one and only thing that will last forever.
Bibliography
- Courtney, Vicki. Five Conversations You Must Have with Your Daughter.
- Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim’s Progress.
- God, The Bible.