Living for God
As a Christian who has attended multiple Christian schools, I've always been told and encouraged to "live for God." While I was in those schools, it was easy to think that just because I attended them I was living for Christ. You start thinking, "I'm taking a religion course every semester, so that's enough right?"or "My school has chapel or devotion everyday, that's enough living for God."
It wasn't until I graduated high school that I realized what a dedication it is to live for God. Saying you're a Christian doesn't mean anything unless your actions follow suit. It's easy to wear different masks throughout the week. One day you can be the partier, get drunk and have a "good time." The next you can be the church goer that attends the 8AM service with your parents. But you see, those things don't go together. They shouldn't, because if you do one you wouldn't dream of doing the other.
There's a whole chapter in the book of 1 Peter called "Living for God," and I recommend you read all of it, but for now here's the verse I'd like to highlight. "Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God." 1 Peter 4:1-2
Because of what Christ has done for us, we should live every second of our lives glorifying Him. We can be witnesses to others just through our actions, we don't even have to say a word. That being said, the reverse is also true. If we openly say we are Christians, yet our actions don't fall in line, we aren't being the lights to the world that God wants us to be.
If we realize that prior to this moment we haven't been living for God the way we should be, we need to remember that we can change our ways. Yes, we were sinful in what we did, and we will continue to be sinful, but God forgives us. Because of that undeserved mercy and grace we should start living for God in the right way. We need to consciously turn away from the evil of this world. Whether it be saying no to a party because you know it will have underage drinking, or refraining from spewing out profanities, they both are good steps in the right direction.
As I said before, living for God takes dedication. It takes courage. It takes faith. Most of all it takes the understanding to realize that we do it not for ourselves, but for Him. That is Living for God.
