a product of the Lord.
I'm reading a book called, "The life you were born to give," by David H. McKinley.
After a slow start, I'm starting to receive the message God is sending me.
I've spent many hours lately thinking about the way I utilize my time. One thing I've been convicted by is how much time I spend thinking about myself; how much of my time is spent on achieving things meant to glorify my name and bring meaning and significance to my life.
When I saw this book on a bargain shelf at Northwestern Bookstore, I hoped it held a message that I know I desperately need to not only hear or read, but begin actively applying to my daily life.
McKinley talks about living a life that is DISTRIBUTED for the glory of God. DISTRIBUTED. I've never quite thought about my life in that way. However, as I think about McKinley’s message I begin to look at God as the Manufacturer of my heart, mind and soul, and my life as a product He has chosen to produce; a product that I am distributing to the world around me every day.
So I ask myself, how do I want the product of “me” to be marketed and received by the many “customers” I encounter every day? See...that marketing part is the piece God has given me control over. He produced me, and by the nature of this world I will constantly be distributed to and received by others. But between those two inevitables, God has given me control to tweak, shape, create and adjust the product of me. What will I choose to do with that control? Will I enhance God's product and ensure it represents the great Manufacturer that created it, or will I destroy it and make it just another thing of this world?
McKinley says that we should be an "emblem of God's mercy," or to continue with my analogy of product, marketing and distribution...I am to be a logo that brands God's sacrifice and love. McKinley says, "This is the most essential reality in the Bible: we live in faith and RESPONSE TO the God who has loved us, redeemed us, and called us into a relationship with Him. All of life becomes a thank-you for God's goodness and grace extended to us."
The key in this statement, I believe, is that we "live in RESPONSE TO the God who has loved us..."
I often catch myself just being that product. Taking God's offerings, using what I think I need and then putting the rest on the top shelf, never responding to the gifts he desires me to use or the relationship He has called me to. If my life is to be a response to Him, a thank-you for his goodness and grace, what does my thank-you note look like? What does it say? How is it delivered? A response requires an action. So I ask myself, am I responding to God's gifts in a tangible way? Am I shaping my product into a thank-you note to the Lord that I can distribute to those I encounter on a daily basis?
Am I in business for the Lord; serving as a walking logo that brands his sacrifice and love? Or have I chosen to shape the product of me in a way that fulfills my fleshly desires and brands a business I am running all alone?
What does my thank-you note say, and who am I allowing to read it?
After a slow start, I'm starting to receive the message God is sending me.
I've spent many hours lately thinking about the way I utilize my time. One thing I've been convicted by is how much time I spend thinking about myself; how much of my time is spent on achieving things meant to glorify my name and bring meaning and significance to my life.
When I saw this book on a bargain shelf at Northwestern Bookstore, I hoped it held a message that I know I desperately need to not only hear or read, but begin actively applying to my daily life.
McKinley talks about living a life that is DISTRIBUTED for the glory of God. DISTRIBUTED. I've never quite thought about my life in that way. However, as I think about McKinley’s message I begin to look at God as the Manufacturer of my heart, mind and soul, and my life as a product He has chosen to produce; a product that I am distributing to the world around me every day.
So I ask myself, how do I want the product of “me” to be marketed and received by the many “customers” I encounter every day? See...that marketing part is the piece God has given me control over. He produced me, and by the nature of this world I will constantly be distributed to and received by others. But between those two inevitables, God has given me control to tweak, shape, create and adjust the product of me. What will I choose to do with that control? Will I enhance God's product and ensure it represents the great Manufacturer that created it, or will I destroy it and make it just another thing of this world?
McKinley says that we should be an "emblem of God's mercy," or to continue with my analogy of product, marketing and distribution...I am to be a logo that brands God's sacrifice and love. McKinley says, "This is the most essential reality in the Bible: we live in faith and RESPONSE TO the God who has loved us, redeemed us, and called us into a relationship with Him. All of life becomes a thank-you for God's goodness and grace extended to us."
The key in this statement, I believe, is that we "live in RESPONSE TO the God who has loved us..."
I often catch myself just being that product. Taking God's offerings, using what I think I need and then putting the rest on the top shelf, never responding to the gifts he desires me to use or the relationship He has called me to. If my life is to be a response to Him, a thank-you for his goodness and grace, what does my thank-you note look like? What does it say? How is it delivered? A response requires an action. So I ask myself, am I responding to God's gifts in a tangible way? Am I shaping my product into a thank-you note to the Lord that I can distribute to those I encounter on a daily basis?
Am I in business for the Lord; serving as a walking logo that brands his sacrifice and love? Or have I chosen to shape the product of me in a way that fulfills my fleshly desires and brands a business I am running all alone?
What does my thank-you note say, and who am I allowing to read it?
posted by the way I see it... at 12:24 AM
3 Comments:
I am stunned and amazed again at how God just knows us so well he finds a way to speak so directly and personally to our hearts. These are great thoughts--thanks for "distributing" them to us. ;)
i am happy to see you're still frequenting your ever-favorite northwestern bookstore. are you behaving yourself, or buying 19 cd's every time you're in there??
I actually did not buy one CD!!! instead, I purchased 3 books!! totally unlike me. look at what i've become without you!
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