The Bible tells us that great importance of having a God-given vision or revelation to pursue. Without such a goal, each and every one of us will be living our lives in wasteful activity, perhaps wasting our time on things that aren't of real importance. Proverbs 28:19 tells us,
"Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law."
When there is no God-given revelation or vision, all of us won't know what to pursue. All of us won't know what to give our lives for. We won't have any direction, no goal, no finish line to run towards. And when we don't have anything to do, we'll do anything that will catch our fancy.
But what do we pursue? Many of us try to find something "worthwhile" to pursue. We look to give ourselves to something that's bigger than ourselves. We look to give our time to doing what seems enjoyable and profitable:
- Businessmen pursue the growth of their businesses
- Teachers pursue the teaching of their students
- Bakers pursue great bread recipes and the satisfaction of bread connoisseurs
And so on and so forth.
We know that as Christians, however, we can pursue anything in this world and still not find the satisfaction that we are longing for. The "worthwhile" things we pursue are simply "worth our while" and not our whole lifetime - much less eternity.
An eternal pursuit
That said, what is that one thing that we should all pursue, this one thing that we should all choose to give all that we have to?
It's the pursuit of Christ.
Pursuing Christ
The pursuit of Christ is the most enjoyable and most rewarding pursuit we can ever choose to undertake. Pursuing Him goes beyond academics, social matters, and religious studies. Pursuing Him means letting go of everything else so that we can focus on pursuing Him.
The Lord Jesus Christ said it so Himself: "whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple." (see Luke 14:33)
As we follow Christ, we must recognize the great things that await us. We must also realize the things that will be required of us. As we let go of our lives here and now for the sake of Christ, we are assured of an even better life now and forever with Him. It's an exchange that's so rewarding the price we pay suddenly becomes so insignificant.
As we follow Christ we learn to deny ourselves more and more so that we'll be able to follow Him more (see Matthew 16:24). And as we deny more of ourselves in order to have more of Him, we'll soon realize that we'll have so much more of what we really want: a life in God's love as His beloved children (see John 1:12).
We learn to put other priorities in a lower level as we place Him above all that we desire and pursue. That's how we do it: by loving Him with all that we are, more than anything else. (see Matthew 22:37-38)
In closing
Friends, pursuing Christ is the most important thing we can ever do with our lives. He's the only pursuit worth pursuing. The only One we should be giving our lives to pursue.
The apostle Paul said it so simply yet so beautifully in Philippians 1:21, saying:
"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
