Taken from Greg Laurie's blog on Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
Why do we exist? What are we here on this planet to begin with? What are we doing, for heaven’s sake?
These were questions I raised in my last blog post, and I pointed out that, according to Scripture, we are here on this earth to know and glorify the God who made us. Another reason we are here is to bring forth spiritual fruit.
Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain” (John 15:16 NKJV). Earlier in the same chapter, He said, “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples” (John 15:8 NKJV).
So the question that begs to be asked is “How are you doing with this?”
Jesus chose you
For years, there has been an “in-house” debate within the Church about God’s choice and man’s response. “Who does God choose? Why does God choose? How does God choose?”
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, it is my belief that you were chosen by God. Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you.. ” But in this debate, it seems like the “elephant in the room” is being ignored. Why did God choose us?
The answer: To bring forth spiritual fruit!
Wasted time
Yet many of us waste countless hours of this God-given life on “nothingness.” Not necessarily “evil” things—just trivial things.
So often, people will say, “I don’t have time for Bible study or prayer; I’m just too busy!” I have a hard time believing this. Think of how much time has been wasted watching the television or browsing the Internet.
I urge you to not waste, but rather to “redeem the time” (see Ephesians 5:16). More literally, this means to “make sacred and wise use of every opportunity."
Again, Paul reminds us, “Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us” (2 Corinthians 6:1 THE MESSAGE).
