Monthly Devotional  – by Taylor Bajic

A Way of Life

On occasion, I have the privilege of leading the Irvine Church’s Junior Sabbath School class in their lesson study and on one particular Sabbath morning a while back, we all took part in an interesting activity together – the two children in the class as well as myself.  We all wrote a list of five items which we own which are extremely valuable to us, and we shared them with the group.  Some listed were a dog, a bicycle, a mobile phone, a Play Station 3.  We had a lot of fun together discussing why they are important to us, what we do with them and so on.

I then asked them a question: ‘Now, in what ways can we use these very things to share Jesus with others and to serve Him?’

There were a few seconds of silence and deep thought… This was a different story; but these lovely children inspired me that morning, as they so often do!  It wasn’t long until one of them said, “Well, a dog is often seen as a friend and a source of comfort… If one of my friends is hurting or sad, I could go and visit her with my dog, and then she could even keep him for the day to maybe help cheer her up.”  The other said, “I could use my bicycle to go visit someone who needs a friend.  Or I could let someone borrow it who needs it”  And “I could use my mobile phone to call someone up who needs to talk and tell them about Jesus.”  Wow… I was humbled.  These kids have it all right.  Even I found it challenging to think of how I could use my computer or my books to share Jesus with someone.

These 9- and 10-year-olds reminded me that the things we use on a daily basis, things that are very important to our everyday lives, can be used in so many other ways and for many other reasons than we would have thought when we initially bought or received them.  They reminded me that Christianity is not merely a belief system, a set of doctrines and traditions, but it is a way of life.  As 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, ‘…whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.’  He has given us an abundance of gifts and blessings so that we may use them for others and for Him, to share them with everyone with whom we come in contact, to glorify Him.

We are graciously given life, and life abundantly, every day.  What we do with that life is our personal choice, but God has given us such an amazing gift of the Holy Spirit, that we may have that personal bond and relationship with Jesus Christ if we choose  (John 14:17, 26). When we give our every day to God and His perfect and loving purpose, we have nothing to lose.  When we spend time with Him and invite the Holy Spirit in, we will begin to see Him in every aspect of our lives and the love that He gives us will automatically shine in and through us (John 7:38, 39).  Our entire perspectives will be changed and turned towards Him.  His Word and character will be written on our hearts and in our every action, a part of our everyday lives (Jeremiah 31:33, 34).  This is what I long for, for Christ to be the first and last in my life, every day.