“Hi George, I will need wisdom as to what to do next in my life.” This was asked in an email from a young lady. I thought that her quest was a thought worth exploring. What to do with the rest of my life was a big question after I first came to Christ. I have answered it in my own way and have tried hard to do what I believe He wants.
But some people are content to just enjoy themselves pursuing entertainment. Is there anyone out there who truly wants to know what to do with the rest of their life? I was never trained as a counselor, but some things are obvious and come from the Bible.
The answer will be different based on whether they already know Christ as their Lord and Savior, or not. If they do, then they can look at their own life and remember what Christ had done for them. With a look in depth it seems to me that it would be hard not to want to share the good news with others. A general desire to share is not enough. They have to do something about it. They might write down five things they can do to get started. This might be expanded into a plan for the rest of their life. There is nothing that we can do that is as important as sharing our faith.
The best way to show others our faith is to live righteously and be an example of holiness. Though no one can live completely without sinning, Christians should try to live as Christ directs. We may not have a halo over our head, but people will notice that we are different, and different in a loving way. Then when we act as ambassadors in speaking about Jesus, it will be believable. We have much to tell others of how Christ has helped us. We surely don’t want them to condemn us some day as in this little lament:
‘My friend, I stand in judgment now, and feel that you’re to blame somehow.
On earth I walked with you day by day, and yet you never pointed out the way.
You knew the Lord in truth and glory, but never told me His story.
My knowledge then was very slim, because you failed to mention Him.
ou taught me some things, that is true, I called you “friend” and trusted you.
But I know now that it’s too late; you could have kept me from this fate.
We walked by day and talked by night, and yet you showed me not the light.
You let me live, and love, and die; you never helped me live on high.
Yes, I called you “friend” in life, I trusted you through joy and strife,
And yet on coming to the end, I wonder if you were my friend?’ [Thanks to Dick Murphy]
For those who don’t know Christ, what should they do? The obvious answer of course is to decide to get to know Him. But will they? If no one has told them of the joy of having a loving relationship with the Lord, only if they stumble on this will anything change in their lives. It is highly unlikely that a person will merely stumble upon the truth. Also our Lord does not force Himself on anyone. They have to want to find Him. But if the seed is planted in a person’s mind, they may stumble on the desire to know Christ.
Then what? Suppose a person does want to accept Christ but everywhere s/he finds opposition. Those they thought were friends say they are fools, or at least foolish to go for that Christian rubbish. So only a strong-willed person will persevere. If we see someone struggling with this, we should jump in and try to assure them that they are making the right move. Also we won’t be shunned if we ask a friend or acquaintance if they know Jesus and realize they do not, and then offer to help them. If we do this we won’t later be a target of someone’s sad lament that we didn’t tell them about our precious Lord. Dust off your halo and help someone find or strengthen their faith. This is the best thing to do with the rest of your life.