A Life Well Lived, Today and for the Future

A compilation

A key to enjoying abundant life is to truly “live in the now,” but also to be sure that you don’t neglect looking into the future now and again. Don’t live today thinking about what others will say about you. Live thinking about what YOU will say to them when you get older! …

I had a delightful conversation with a friend of mine this morning. He’s in a similar situation as I am with young children and is super busy with a budding career. He was sharing with me some of his struggles, which seem very much like mine.

As a business owner, husband, and father of four, I can appreciate the craziness of a season many are traveling through. During our conversation, I shared with my friend how I have come to appreciate the importance of living in the future, while still appreciating “the now”—something that recently dawned on me while I was reading an article by Michael Hyatt. …

This article stood out to me because Michael was looking back to a time in his life to which I can currently relate. … Michael shared the importance of time management, the importance of priorities and how balance is key. While Hyatt was looking back 25–30 years, to where I am now, I couldn’t help but look forward 25–30 years to where he is now and where I could be.

“What will I be saying when I’m Michael Hyatt’s age?” I thought to myself. …

I have found myself receiving consolation, comfort, wisdom, and guidance by having a forward-gazing perspective. I’m sure that you have heard of the practice of living life today as if it were your last day alive. Essentially, to live with no regrets and put your all-in-all in everything that you do. Or, maybe you’ve heard of people living their lives in a way that they design what people are going to say at their funeral.

What are people going to say at YOUR funeral? Sobering thought, isn’t it?

Personally, I don’t live today thinking about what others will say about me. I live thinking about what I will say to them when I get older!

• What will I tell people about the experiences that I am living through right now 30 years from now?
• What lessons will I pass along to them?
• Will I share sage advice about how I didn’t just “survive,” but how I learned to THRIVE through the challenges of life?
• Will I give tips about how I learned to honor God, in spite of the worldly temptations around me?

That’s how I am trying to live right now. I am trying to live not in the moment as much as I am now trying to live up to a standard I will uphold in the future as a wise old man. I am trying to learn from the mistakes before they happen. Trying to see others who have gone through this path, and I am trying to embrace this season, realizing it will change very soon. …

My hope and prayer are that we seek out God’s hand, seek out wisdom from His spirit, and push forward in a way that we can look back 20–30 years from now and be proud of how we lived.

Most importantly, I pray that we live in a way that God will look at us and say, “Well done, My good and faithful servant. You have been faithful with little, I will now entrust you with much.”—From Natural Living Family, a Bible Health Ministry¹

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Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.—Matthew 10:39

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Our family watches an artist on television paint his masterpieces. He begins with a blank canvas and builds the scene one color at a time. His painting looks like an unorganized collection of lines and hues as he works. But as time goes on, he adds the finishing details, and suddenly a beautiful landscape emerges. The artist creates with the end in mind, and each step of the process works together to accomplish the final picture.

In the same way, as God’s disciples, we are called to live with the end in mind, understanding our lives on earth are meant to advance God’s Kingdom.

As I read through Jesus’ words to His disciples in Matthew 10, I can’t help but wonder how they felt about their mission. Jesus’ instructions for the disciples were challenging and required great sacrifice (Matthew 10:9–10; Matthew 10:16–18). If the disciples focused only on their earthly circumstances, it would have seemed Jesus was setting them up for failure. Yet woven through Jesus’ warnings is the promise of an eternal future filled with great reward (Matthew 10:40–42). …

The original disciples set aside the desires of this world for the promise of the world to come. As disciples of Christ today, we are called to share the same eternal perspective:

• Disciples understand that hardship and struggle offer an opportunity to demonstrate to those around them what it means to have faith in God’s power (Matthew 10:39).
• Disciples recognize the importance of proclaiming God’s Truth wherever they are (Matthew 10:7).
• Disciples trust God’s sovereignty and obey Him at any cost (Galatians 2:20). …

Living as a disciple in this world requires sacrifice. We may pass up career advancement to ensure we have time to serve God. We give generously to God’s work instead of ourselves. We may lose status and popularity as we stand firm on God’s Truth in today’s culture. As we loosen our grasp on the things of this world, we fix our eyes on eternity.

God is the Artist, and we are His instruments. Through our obedience, He uses our lives to build His Kingdom. One day, He will reveal His masterpiece to us in eternity, and we will marvel at its beauty.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for the promise of eternal life in heaven through Jesus’ death on the cross. Give me an eternal perspective, and help me see the places in my life where I am more focused on this world than Your Kingdom. I want to be a disciple who honors You with my life. In Jesus’ name, amen.—Trisha Hawk²

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You have passed many of life’s most difficult tests. You survived and even thrived through the things that came your way. Sometimes, though, you wonder if you have spent your life as wisely as you could have, and wish you had more to show for yourself. But I don’t focus on your past. I look at what you can yet become, your present and future.

I want you to experience the fullness of My joy, but first you must let go of your regrets and sorrow over the past. Don’t fall into the trap of remorse, thinking that you failed or fell short and therefore don’t deserve to be happy and fulfilled now or ever. That is not true!

I can help you make things right and to make amends where needed. Then you can look forward to a fulfilling future, free of remorse and regrets.

I’ve seen everything that you have ever done for others, and I haven’t forgotten any of it. I am like a faithful accountant. Every kind word, every bit of love, and every unselfish deed is entered into My book. I also see every affliction, every hardship, every wrong you endure, and every trying of your faith. These are also recorded in My book.

In all of these things, you have been investing in eternity. You don’t realize how much you have invested or how much interest your investment is earning for you. In the day of accounting, when I tally the books and you see how much you have stored up in the next life, you just might be surprised at the rewards that await you!—Jesus

Published on Anchor September 2023. Read by Jerry Paladino. Music by Michael Dooley.

Posted in: audio, compilation, discipleship, encouragement, following god

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