Living life without regrets, what does that look like to you?  To me, it means only one thing, fulfilling the purpose that God created me for.  That’s it – clean and simple.  It is not about achieving a specific status in this world, it isn’t about the amount of money, it isn’t about the house I live in or the car I drive, or where I work or what my position is – it just isn’t.  And maybe if my circumstances were different, maybe I would think differently, I would like to think not, but let’s not speculate.

Back to you, what are you striving for in your life?  What are your goals?  Where do you set your sights?  If you achieved it all, do you think you would be fulfilled?

Back to me, (this is like ping pong).  I’ll share with you why I believe true fulfillment comes from pursing God’s plan for my life.  You know this is where I am going to point you to scripture – because, hey, it’s the truth.

Matthew 6:33

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Gee, so what does that mean?

How do you “seek first his kingdom”?  You ask God to show you how to fulfill your calling, in the meantime keep doing what you are doing.  I promise He will guide you, in His time and His way – not ours.

What does it mean to seek “his righteousness”?  To live a righteous life as predicated by God, and demonstrated in scripture (see my piece Come Ride with Me, for more on this)

What are all these “things that will be given” to me?  Does that mean I get whatever I ask for?  Ugh, no.  What it means is that God will give you what you need to fulfill your calling.  That isn’t to say you will not be blessed abundantly along the way!

Okay, so I hope that now clarifies why a life without regrets, for me, means pursuing my calling.  In essence one could say that fulfilling your calling is being a servant to God.  In Luke 17:7-12, Jesus teaches his apostles about the attitude of a servant of God.  It is an honor and privilege to be called by God to be used as a vessel through which God works.  I wonder how many of us would view our duties as a privilege.

Luke 17:7-12

Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep.  Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field “Come along now and sit down to eat?” Would he not rather say “Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink?” Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?  So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.”

Like the workers in the field, our work can be hard, physical, back-breaking work, perhaps as a missionary.  Or it can be emotionally challenging and requires investing considerable time and effort into a relationship.  Or maybe it looks different altogether for you.  Nonetheless all of us are called to serve.

Persevering through the building and sustaining of relationships can require some heavy lifting and heartache.  Relationships require unconditional love, honesty and trust.  I would say these are the cornerstones or foundations upon which relationships are built.  Building that foundation takes tireless effort and the process can be hurtful.  It is constantly giving of oneself and exposing your heart.  Sometimes it will be received and you will be thanked – that is a blessing indeed.  More often than not, there will be no thank you and your efforts may even be rejected.  As painful as that may be to our heart, God calls us to march on and continue.

Drawing the parallel from this bible passage, the servant comes in from a day working in the field and is required to make dinner for his master before he eats.  No putting his feet up on the table and taking a break here, he needs to get right back at it.  So it is with us, we continue with the work God calls us to do, even if we are tired and hurt from our efforts (or we are having maybe a temper tantrum, as is usually the case with me…).  We are called to press on as Paul tells us in Philippians 3:14,

“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus”.

Maybe we will never see how the manifestation of our work will transpire this side of heaven, as we may hope.  But one thing is certain, we can know that God sees us.  He will see that we have offered ourselves as living sacrifices to execute His will for our life.  While we may not receive a thank you from God or from those who we are working for here on earth, we must embrace this service as a privilege.

Jesus’ death on this cross was the ultimate living sacrifice that points us to what giving of oneself looks like to pursue the will of God.  While none of us will be crucified on a cross (at least, I wouldn’t think so in this day and age!) we are asked to die to self and live through the Holy Spirit.

Of course the choice is always ours.  Similar to the story in Luke, we can be the worker on the field working tirelessly and giving all of our effort regardless of the pain and suffering we may endure.  Or we can be the worker who puts in a minimal effort, protecting themselves from pain and suffering, but not yielding a plentiful harvest.  We can embrace the privilege of being asked to give or we can reject the opportunities put before us to work for God.

Irrespective of our choice, there must be an understanding that God does not need us to do His work (for heaven’s sake, He is the Creator of the world, why would he need us!?!).  But God does provide us with the opportunity to work with Him.  For this, we need to be thankful to Him, He need not be thankful to us.  So every effort we put forth is “an offering”, if you will.  With the recognition that we are unworthy but are answering a calling to give of ourselves for others and more importantly to God.

So I would ask you today, are you tired of putting an effort into the relationship?  Are you tired of helping those who cannot help themselves?  Are you tired from trying to do the right thing? I know I am.  But I know that there is no bigger joy than to fulfill ones calling in life.

I pray that we never look back at our lives with regret.  Lord, may we never tire of doing Your will in our lives.  Might you sustain us and feed us with your holy word and your mighty strength and may we press on towards the goal. Amen