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Thoughts on
LifeBuilding
I started this series after
realizing how easily one can become wrapped up in the world of Internet
business, to the detriment of that person and his or her family. It
occurred to me that I am building a life while I'm trying to build the
business, that life being the total person I am and the relationships I am
molding. Lifebuilding isn't optional, we are in the process of becoming
someone new whether we recognize it or not. The only question is the
quality of that life, and the end result.
Life goes on
Life, as someone commented, is what happens while you are waiting for your
plans to work out. It is inevitable and irreversible, but, unfortunately,
also ignorable. We face each day equipped with the sum total of our
upbringing, our experiences, reaction to those experiences and some
measure of contemplation of the consequences of our previous choices. Rare
is the person who spends much time actively involved in evaluating the
results of past actions and consciously choosing the kind of person he or
she will seek to become. More commonly, we move on quickly, simply
repeating what works for us and produces the results necessary at that
moment. Meanwhile, relationship development may suffer or go into
decline as the tyranny of the urgent takes over.
But you...
You, on the other hand, may more carefully evaluate the negative
consequences of the unexamined lives of others and vow to live life
purposefully, choosing to give priority to cultivating relationships
within your family and without. You become a richer, fuller person with a
sense of satisfaction about the life you are building. Your family and
friends become more important to you than your business, and you are
looked up to by those that know you.
Not the end of the story
That could make a neat, happy ending. The wise person consciously chooses
who he or she is becoming and becomes a more fulfilled person, building a
purposeful life. I will agree that is definitely the better choice and
produces a person much more enjoyable to be around. But there is another
dimension involved, an eternal one. Because the life we are building, the
kind of person we are becoming, won't stop when the heartbeat does. All of
life cries out for some meaning beyond these few short years here, and the
Bible confirms that it does indeed exist. Man has a mortal body but an
undying soul, built to continue to produce meaning and fulfillment
forever, because his original "specifications" included a stamp of
authenticity linked to his creator. What difference does that make?
Foundation and structure
The Bible has some clear things to say about lifebuilding, spoken of in
terms of foundation and structure. Jesus spoke of the wise man and the
foolish man, the former building his house on a firm foundation, the
latter building on the sand. When the inevitable storm came, the foolish
man's fine structure collapsed, an event we can see reproduced in houses
today. Two beautiful buildings, perhaps identical, but one doomed simply
because of its lack of permanent underlayment. But what is the foundation
that Jesus is commending? Isn't it a life lived in a conscientious effort
to be the best person we can be? What more could God or anyone else
possibly expect?
Back to the problem
The fact is that God does expect something more, but it's not something we
are naturally equipped to produce. There is something terribly wrong in
the human heart, a radical departure from the original intent, but true
for every man, woman and child. The Bible calls it sin, and it affects all
areas of our lives, making it impossible for us to reach our potential in
this life and separating us from God both in this life and the next. But
God was determined to provide a way for His original purpose for man to be
fulfilled, and that way was to send His Son to become a man - the only
sinless one - without ceasing to be God. As the God-man, He alone was able
to bring cosmic justice by taking the just penalty for man's sin - death -
upon Himself. This substitutionary, sacrificial death opened the way for
sinful man to find forgiveness for sin, an eternal home with God and the
endless growth, meaning and fulfillment that was God's original purpose.
The true foundation
That relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the only foundation
that will last through the storms of life and the ultimate storm of
judgment day. It isn't entered into simply by an intellectual agreement
with the facts. A choice of the will is involved, my placing of faith and
trust in Jesus' death as both the necessary and sufficient means for me to
be reconciled to God and His purpose for me. The Bible pictures this
transaction as accepting a gift - the gift of
eternal life. When we agree with
God about our need for eternal life through Jesus Christ, He gives us a
new heart and begins to remold our motives and basic attitudes. Then we can
indeed begin to build a purposeful life, empowered by His indwelling
Spirit, a life that is soul-satisfying in this life and is equipped to
move into eternity intact. Start your real lifebuilding today!
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