Don't Waste Your Life

1. Life's Essence: Glorify God by Enjoying Him

God created me—and you—to live with a single, all-embracing, all-transforming passion—namely, a passion to glorify God by enjoying and displaying his supreme excellence in all the spheres of life.

Purpose of Existence. The core message is that life's ultimate purpose isn't a choice between glorifying God or pursuing happiness; it's the unified pursuit of both. Jonathan Edwards's teachings confirm that delighting in God is the way we glorify Him, making it our joyful duty and the single passion of our lives. This perspective shifts the focus from self-centeredness to God-centered joy, where our happiness becomes a testament to His glory.

God's Glory and Our Joy. God's glory and our enjoyment of Him are not separate categories but are intertwined like fruit and apples. To enjoy God supremely is one way to glorify Him, making Him look supremely valuable. This breakthrough understanding transforms the Christian life from a duty-bound existence to a joy-filled expression of worship.

Avoiding a Wasted Life. A wasted life is one lived without a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples. To avoid this, one must press into the ultimate purpose of God and join Him in it. This means living with a single, all-satisfying, unifying passion that reflects God's own passion: the display of His glory and the delight of our hearts.

2. Single Passion: Christ Crucified as the Only Boast

I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

The Centrality of the Cross. The apostle Paul's declaration to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified underscores the singular focus that should define a Christian's life. This isn't about ignoring other aspects of life but seeing them through the lens of the cross. The cross becomes the unifying principle, the lens through which all experiences are understood and valued.

Tragedy vs. Glory. The story of Ruby Eliason and Laura Edwards, who died serving the poor in Cameroon, contrasts sharply with the couple who retired to Florida to play softball and collect shells. The former exemplifies a life spent for a great purpose, while the latter represents a life squandered on trivial pursuits. This comparison highlights the importance of living with eternal significance in mind.

Everything is Rubbish. Paul's statement that he counted everything as loss for the sake of Christ emphasizes the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus. This single-minded vision allows believers to be set free from small dreams and unleashed for the glory of Christ in all spheres of life. It's about having a passion so strong that everything else pales in comparison.

3. Costly Love: Magnifying Christ Through Suffering

When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.

The Calvary Road. Following Christ is not a path of ease but one of costly love, often involving suffering. This suffering isn't merely a consequence of magnifying Christ; it's also a means. Christ is made supreme when we are so satisfied in Him that we can "let goods and kindred go" and suffer for the sake of love.

Bonhoeffer's Challenge. Dietrich Bonhoeffer's "The Cost of Discipleship" challenges the notion of "cheap grace," emphasizing that true faith transforms lives and demands radical commitment. Bonhoeffer's life and death serve as a powerful example of embracing the cross and living a life devoted to making much of Christ, even at great personal cost.

Christ-Exalting Paradoxes. The apostle Paul's life exemplifies the Christ-exalting paradoxes of the Christian life: "as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything." Embracing the cost of following Christ allows His worth to shine in the world, transforming suffering into a means of magnifying His greatness.

4. Risk Is Right: Embracing Uncertainty for God's Cause

Whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.

The Illusion of Safety. Risk is inherent in our finite lives due to our ignorance of the future. The pursuit of safety is often a mirage, paralyzing us from taking risks for others and the cause of Christ. The Bible challenges this illusion, presenting numerous examples of individuals who risked everything for God's glory.

Biblical Examples of Risk. Esther's willingness to approach the king, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's refusal to worship the golden image, and Paul's journey to Jerusalem all demonstrate the importance of risking for the cause of God. These individuals acted on wisdom and trust, handing the outcome over to God, embodying the principle that it is right to risk for His sake.

The Power of Faith. The power to risk comes not from heroism or self-reliance but from faith in the all-providing, all-ruling, all-satisfying Son of God, Jesus Christ. This faith allows us to face potential losses with the assurance that God will use them for our good and His glory, transforming risk into an act of worship.

5. Forgiveness Frees: Gladly Making Others Glad in God

The essence of glorifying . . . God consists, therefore, in the creature’s rejoicing in God’s manifestations of his beauty, which is the joy and happiness we speak of.

The Joy of Forgiveness. The motivation for being a forgiving person stems from the joy of being freely and joyfully at home with God. Forgiveness isn't just about being forgiven; it's about the joy we receive in God through forgiveness. This joy overflows in glad-hearted mercy to others, because joy in the merciful God cannot spurn being merciful.

The Goal of Giving. The nature and aim of glad-hearted, Christian giving is the effort to give others everlasting and ever-increasing joy in God. Since God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him, living for the glory of God means living to gladly make others glad in God.

The Essence of Salvation. Gladness in God is not a peripheral religious experience but the goal of all saving work and the experiential essence of what it means to be saved. Without this joy in God, there would be no salvation. This gladness has roots in God's eternal decree, was purchased by the blood of Christ, springs up in the newborn heart because of God's Spirit, awakens in repentance and faith, constitutes the essence of sanctification and Christlikeness, and gives rise to a life of love and a passion for redeeming the world after the image of God.

6. Wartime Living: Proving Christ Is More Precious Than Life

Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

Betraying Jesus. To live as though we had all the same values as the world would betray Jesus. This means prioritizing God over possessions, echoing Jesus's teachings on renouncing earthly attachments for heavenly treasure. It's about living as exiles and refugees, with our citizenship in heaven, counting everything as rubbish in comparison with Christ.

The World's Distortion of Love. The world's distortion of love is that love has to do with showing a dying soul the life-giving beauty of the glory of God, especially His grace. Yes, as we will see, we show God's glory in a hundred practical ways that include care about food and clothes and shelter and health.

The Power of Loss. God's glory shines more brightly when He satisfies us in times of loss than when He provides for us in times of plenty. The health, wealth, and prosperity "gospel" swallows up the beauty of Christ in the beauty of His gifts and turns the gifts into idols. The world is not impressed when Christians get rich and say thanks to God. They are impressed when God is so satisfying that we give our riches away for Christ's sake and count it gain.

7. Secular Vocation: Making Much of Christ from 8 to 5

So, brothers, in whatever condition each was called, there let him remain with God.

The War Zone. The secular vocations of Christians are a war zone, where spiritual adversaries are defeated and moral high ground is gained for God's glory. This perspective challenges the notion that "spiritual" work is superior, emphasizing that all vocations can be used to magnify Christ.

Luther's Vision. Martin Luther's teaching on the priesthood of every believer dismantles the spiritual hierarchy between clergy and laity. Every Christian, regardless of their vocation, is called to benefit and serve others, contributing to the bodily and spiritual welfare of the community.

Six Ways to Magnify Christ.

• Enjoying fellowship with God throughout the day
• Designing creativity and industry to exalt God
• Confirming the Gospel's glory through our work
• Earning money to help others, not depend on them
• Using money to make others glad in God
• Loving others through the relationships our work creates

8. Missions & Mercy: A Plea to This Generation

Missions exists because worship doesn’t.

The Heart of Missions. Missions exists because worship doesn't, and the ultimate aim of world missions is that God would create, by His Word, worshippers who glorify His name through glad-hearted faith and obedience. This perspective shifts the focus from mere evangelism to the creation of genuine worshipers.

The Call to Go. God is closing in on some, calling them to direct engagement in the great global purpose of missions. This call requires a willingness to be loosened from present situations and to embrace the dangerous and dirty work of spreading the Gospel among unreached peoples.

The Partnership of Mercy. Foreign missions is a validation of all ministries of mercy at home because it exports them abroad. Planting the church in an unreached people means planting the base of operations for all the mercy Jesus commanded for the poor.

Last updated: April 4, 2025