Throughout our lives, we often question if we are making a difference. Sometimes, I find myself wondering about the impact my life has made and will make for eternity. As Christ’s followers, we want to glorify our Savior in everything we do and live purposefully to make His name known.
Many times, though, we question how to do this in our everyday lives. We want our lives to count for Jesus, but we don’t know where to start.
The following points focus on biblical principles and attitudes to consider when someone wants their everyday life to impact eternity. In part two, I will discuss practical ideas based on the Bible to impact others.
1. Make Jesus the Top Priority in Your Life
Trusting in Jesus for salvation and having a personal relationship with Him is more important than anything else in life. People who refuse Jesus’ free offer of salvation are turning down the only thing in life that can ever give them meaning, purpose, and hope for the future.
Only individuals who have trusted in Jesus for salvation can positively impact eternity because believers possess the greatest message in the universe: the gospel.
Sadly, many believers lessen the impact they could have on the world around them by not making Jesus their top priority in life.
Instead of following Christ and surrendering to His plans, they allow themselves to become distracted by other things, even if those things are not necessarily wrong. To make a difference with our lives, we must prioritize our relationship with Christ.
Prioritizing Jesus means putting Him first in life and seeing Him as central to everything we do. We should invest in our relationship with the Lord by spending time with Him in prayer and reading His Word. Doing so will help us grow in Christlikeness so that we can, in turn, influence those around us.
2. Don’t Put Off Serving God
When I attended a Bible college for my undergraduate studies, students were required to complete hours of Christian service.
The university wanted students to be actively involved in local churches and the community, but professors and staff also wanted us to learn that we can serve God in our current situation.
We didn’t have to wait until we graduated or got a job in ministry. The lesson was clear: We serve God in our everyday lives.
Maybe you also find yourself putting off serving God until situations get better or change. For example: finishing a degree, finding the “right” job, getting married, waiting for a season of life that is less hectic, raising enough support to serve as a missionary, and the list could go on.
The problem with this mentality is that circumstances in life will never be perfect or ideal. Jesus told us that in this life, we would have trouble (John 16:33). We will always have responsibilities and struggles in our lives, which is why we should not put off serving God until our life situation improves or changes.
Furthermore, if we have trusted in Jesus for salvation, then we are His disciples. The process of our discipleship does not halt or pause during certain events in life. Even if we are preparing for a future position, we can still exercise faithfulness in our current situation.
Scripture reminds us that our life is but a breath or vapor, which is why we cannot waste the opportunities that God presents to us now as His disciples (Job 7:7; James 4:14). Start praying and seeking out ways to serve God now instead of later.
3. Stop Compartmentalizing Faith
Another hindrance to leaving a lasting impact is when we separate the sacred and secular in our lives. Some people think they serve and worship God at church but then carry out the rest of their lives throughout the week.
Modern society also encourages people to relegate their faith to “personal” matters but exclude it from the public sphere.
However, the Bible views faith holistically, affecting all parts of life. For example, God says that practical matters of caring for orphans and widows are a result of religion that is acceptable to Him (James 1:27).
Also, Scripture discusses the importance of helping the poor and needy, which reflects God’s care for those who are suffering (Proverbs 19:17; Matthew 25:40; Luke 12:33; Acts 20:35). The Christian faith is not just about what we do on Sundays in a building, but what we do with our entire life.
Believers need to recognize that God wants us to be involved in the world around us. He does not call us to hide in our comfortable houses and church buildings. He wants us to bring light to the darkness around us (Matthew 5:16).
To make a difference, we must bring our love for Jesus, and our love for others, into our everyday life. Jesus never compartmentalized His love and ministry, and we should not either.
4. Surrender to the Lord’s Will and Plan
To make an impact, we must surrender our will and plans to the Lord. When Jesus talked about the need for surrender, He used the image of death: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). If we want to make a difference, we must die to ourselves and our desires.
In Scripture, Peter is an example of someone who gave up an aspect of his life that he felt comfortable with to follow Christ. Peter was a fisherman and resorted to this profession after Jesus’ death and resurrection (John 21:3). Since he had denied Jesus, Peter was unsure of his future.
After finishing a night of fishing, he and the other disciples saw Jesus on shore in the morning (John 21:3-4). They ate breakfast with the Lord, and He reinstated Peter.
Telling Peter about the job of shepherding, Jesus stated that His will for the fisherman was to be a shepherd of His flock (John 21:15-19). Earlier, He had explained Peter’s new job as being a fisher of men (Mark 1:17).
Like Peter, we must surrender to the Lord’s will for our life. Even though we may feel unqualified, unworthy, or uncomfortable, we can trust in God’s plan. Surrendering to His will, which involves dying to ourselves daily, is a vital step in making a difference with our life.
5. Obey God
After surrendering, the next step is to obey. As Jesus told Peter, “You must follow me” (John 21:22). We might struggle with knowing what God wants us to do since we do not have all the details.
Thankfully, though, the Lord has given us His Word and His Spirit to help guide us as we make decisions in obedience to His will.
Scripture includes specific commands to obey. Jesus commanded all His followers to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20). Taking the gospel to others and discipling people is not a job reserved only for missionaries and pastors.
Every believer is expected to obey this command. Thus, one area we can confidently affirm that the Lord wants us to obey is to share the gospel and make disciples.
Other definitive commands include loving God wholeheartedly and loving others (Mark 12:30-31). Both these commands sum up all the Law and Prophets (Matthew 22:40).
When examining our actions, we should ask ourselves if we are acting in love for both God and others. If an action is not loving, then according to Scripture, it is worthless (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
In addition to making disciples and acting in love, we can also obey God by seeking to glorify Him. The Bible tells us that humans were made for God’s glory (Isaiah 43:7).
Hence, we act in obedience to our created purpose when we live to glorify our Creator. We can make a difference in life by seeking to glorify the Lord in our actions, thoughts, and relationships with others.
6. Start Where You Are
If we want to make an impact, then the best place to start is where we are. To begin, we can invest in our relationship with Christ by spending time with Him and obeying what He teaches us in Scripture.
Trust in His plan and follow Him wholeheartedly. Even though we may feel uncomfortable stepping out in faith, God will help us as we seek to live for His glory.
By viewing our relationship with Jesus as our first priority, following Him, surrendering to His will, and obeying Him, we can take the first steps to live with intentionality and purpose.
Most people already have relationships and a sphere of influence from which they can start and span out to impact the world for Christ.
As Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
For further reading:
What Does a Christ-Centered Life Look Like?
How Can We Live a Fruitful Life While in the World?
What Does the Bible Say about Life?
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/galitskaya
