A Gold Purified Life

Lately life has been pretty crazy, as I'm sure you all are the same. Sometimes this crazy life gets us so caught up in it that we fail to realize why we are really here living. Life isn't always what we hear it should be...

It isn't to be the best at what you do.
It isn't to impact the most people
It isn't to lead a perfect life
It isn't to make the least amount of mistakes
It isn't to be the wealthiest person
It isn't to have the perfect body
It isn't about putting up walls so others can't see your flaws
It isn't about taking the easy path and what seems most reliable
It isn't to be the most talented.
It isn't to be the straight A student.
It isn't to be the CEO of a company.
It isn't to create the top hit in music.
It isn't to be the most famous writer.
It isn't to be the popular girl at school.
It isn't about having the hottest car or latest fashion trend.
It isn't about being the prettiest or wearing nice clothes.
It isn't about being loved by everyone.
It isn't about being perfect and always knowing the right things to do.
It isn't about being fake and covering up your weaknesses


Now that I've listed all the things I think life isn't let me explain what I believe life should be:

Life is all about living.
It's about doing and using your life for what really counts.
It is about being yourself and being genuine
It is about caring for others and not just yourself
It is about reaching the world and not focusing on your needs and wants
It is about acting and stepping up
It is about doing the hard thing when the easy thing seems the most reliable
It is about doing the right thing and not the easy thing
It is about accepting yourself for who you are and loving yourself the way God made you
It is about going out and doing something amazing with your life, even if it is small
It is about taking chances
It is about being humble and doing things others may not see
It is about showing kindness even to the meanest person
It is about being Christlike in a sinful world
It is standing up for what is right when everyone else is doing what's wrong
It's about remaining strong when everyone else is bringing you down
It's about being there for others when they aren't there for you
It is about doing things for God that will last for eternity, and seeing what truly matters in the long run
It's about looking dumb in people's eyes, but being wise in God's
It is a chance to do things that will far outlast this world
It's a chance to impact someone's life, even if it's only one!

How often I get so caught up in the daily struggles of this life that I fail to see that God is coming one day soon to take us Christians back up to heaven to live in eternity with Him one day. That day is coming sooner than we think and I have a lot of work to do. Lately it seems like I've been putting God second-hand in my life since other things have been more prominent and important at the current time. But even though things seem important and necessary to focus on right now, God always should be our main priority. He's the one constantly involved in every circumstance of our life. He's the one there beside us all the way. 

Remember that God is coming back for you. Everything we have done for spite, selfish ambition, pride, and with a wrong motive will all be burned and fade away to dust. Only what we have done for God will remain through the fire as gold purified. I know out of my life recently I won't have much left through the fire. I have to refocus my life and start thinking about others and God and not just my petty circumstances that seem so big right now. There's a lot more to life than me and my complaints.

Go out of your way this week and be kind to someone. Show someone kindness and a caring heart. Compliment someone, take someone out to eat, send someone a kind letter or a facebook message letting them know you are praying for them. Do a special chore for someone or invite someone to your house to talk. Maybe just be a listening ear to someone or ask how their day is. You never know just how much one small action can do. But remember to do it with the right motive, don't go doing it for attention or to look good for others to see. Just do it for God and ask Him to show you what you can do for someone.

Maybe you feel like you need to spend more time with God this week, read His Word and ask Him to help you grow closer to Him. Ask Him to show you something that you can apply to your life while reading the Bible or your devotions. We can never be too close to God. There is always growing to do. Often when we are closer to God our circumstances seem to have a whole new perspective and don't seem so dark and trying.

So get close to God this week and do things for eternity. Don't get caught up in the pleasures of this life but do something that will far outweigh this world. There is so much more meaning than we see.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.