THE WAY YOU SEE YOUR LIFE SHAPES YOUR LIFE
How you define life determines how you live your life.
Your perspective will influence how you:
- invest your time
- spend your money
- use your talents
- and value your relationships.
If I asked how you picture life, what image would come to your mind? That image is your life metaphor. It’s the view of life that you hold, consciously or unconsciously, in your mind. It’s your description of how life works and what you expect from it.
People often express their life metaphors through clothes, jewelry, cars, hairstyles, bumper stickers, even tattoos. Your unspoken life metaphor influences your life more than you realize. It determines your expectations, your values, your relationships, your goals, and your priorities.
For instance,
- if you think life is a party, your primary value in life will be having fun.
- If you see life as a race, you will value speed and will probably be in a hurry much of the time.
- If you view life as a marathon, you will value endurance.
- If you see life as a battle or a game, winning will be very important to you.
What is your view of life?
WHY IT MATTERS: You may be basing your life on a faulty life metaphor.
To fulfill the purposes God made you for, you will have to challenge conventional wisdom and replace it with the biblical metaphors of life. The Bible says, “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God.”
The Bible offers three metaphors that teach us God’s view of life:
- Life is a test
- Life is a trust
- Life is a temporary assignment
LIFE IS A TEST
This life metaphor is seen in stories throughout the Bible. God continually tests people’s character, faith, obedience, love, integrity, and loyalty. Words like trials, temptations, refining, and testing occur more than 200 times in the Bible.
- God tested Abraham by asking him to offer his son Isaac.
- God tested Jacob when he had to work extra years to earn Rachel as his wife.
- Adam and Eve failed their test in the garden of Eden
- David failed his tests from God on several occasions.
But the Bible also gives us many examples of people who passed a great test, such as Joseph, Ruth, Esther, and Daniel. Character is both developed and revealed by tests, and all of life is a test. We don’t know all the tests God will give you, but we can predict some of them, based on the Bible.
You will be tested by
- major changes
- delayed promises
- impossible problems
- unanswered prayers
- undeserved criticism
- even senseless tragedies.
God tests our faith through challenges, he evaluates our hope by how we manage possessions, and assesses our love through our interactions with others.
The good news is that God wants you to pass the tests of life, so he never allows the tests you face to be greater than the grace he gives you to handle them. The Bible says, “God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.” Every time you pass a test, God notices and makes plans to reward you in eternity. James says, “Blessed are those who endure when they are tested. When they pass the test, they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
LIFE ON EARTH IS A TRUST
Our time on earth and our energy, intelligence, opportunities, relationships, and resources are all gifts from God that he has entrusted to our care and management. We are stewards of whatever God gives us. This concept of stewardship begins with the recognition that God is the owner of everything and everyone on earth. The Bible says, “The world and all that is in it belong to the LORD; the earth and all who live on it are his.” We never really own anything during our brief stay on earth. God just loans the earth to us while we’re here. It was God’s property before you arrived, and God will loan it to someone else after you die. You just get to enjoy it for a while.
LIFE ON EARTH IS A TEMPORARY ASSIGNMENT
To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won’t be here long, so don’t get too attached.
Repeatedly the Bible compares life on earth to temporarily living in a foreign country. This is not your permanent home or final destination. You’re just passing through, just visiting earth. The Bible uses terms like alien, pilgrim, foreigner, stranger, visitor, and traveler to describe our brief stay on earth. David said, “I am but a foreigner here on earth,” and Peter explained, “If you call God your Father, live your time as temporary residents on earth.”
Your identity is in eternity, and your homeland is heaven. When you grasp this truth, you will stop worrying about “having it all” on earth. Realizing that life on earth is just a temporary assignment should radically alter your values. Eternal values, not temporal ones, should become the deciding factors for your decisions. As C. S. Lewis observed, “All that is not eternal is eternally useless.” The Bible says, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
It is a fatal mistake to assume that God’s goal for your life is material prosperity or popular success, as the world defines it. The abundant life has nothing to do with material abundance, and faithfulness to God does not guarantee success in a career or even in ministry. Never focus on temporary crowns.
In God’s eyes, the greatest heroes of faith are not those who achieve prosperity, success, and power in this life, but those who treat this life as a temporary assignment and serve faithfully, expecting their promised reward in eternity.
more tomorrow,
Hunter
more tomorrow,
Hunter