Living for God
by Thomas Miller

Before recording our newest project here at Gateway Church, we asked ourselves a lot of honest questions. Since we were making a pretty bold statement by naming our album Living For You, we needed to make sure we got to the bottom of what living for God really means. Is living for God something that's far easier said than done? Why is it that, in its purest form, living for God so often seems like an insurmountable task? As we asked God these honest questions, He gave us some pretty amazing answers that have stuck with us ever since.

Okay, let's be honest with each other. Although we know that we've been saved by God's unconditional and free grace and cleansed by His Son's blood, how often do we still try to earn God's favor by doing neat things for Him? How often do you hear that nagging voice that says things aren't cool between you and God (even after you've said a thousand prayers of forgiveness and beaten yourself black and blue over it)? Have you ever missed a daily spiritual discipline and then felt guilty before God? How much (if any) of your life do you live guilt-free?

I grew up in church; however, it wasn't until I was a junior in college that I gave 100% my life to God and began pursuing an intimate one-on-one relationship with Him. At that time, I had such a desire to please and honor God with how I lived my life. The only problem was I continually felt like I couldn't measure up. As hard as I tried to please Him, I always had this feeling that my efforts fell dreadfully short. Truth be told, my efforts DID always fall short (Isaiah 64:6). Even though I wasn't engaging in gross sin or stumbling into moral failures, I just couldn't measure up to Him, and I was painfully aware of that fact. As a result, my relationship with God basically consisted of two separate aspects: (1) enjoying Him and (2) hating myself. What a combination!

Do you ever feel this way? You love God, but you hate that burden of guilt hanging around your neck. You try and try and try to please God, but you always feel that it just isn't good enough. What are we to do? How can we truly live for God?

It's easy to overlook, but God's Word does give us an answer. Colossians 1:27 (NLT) says, For this is the secret: Christ lives in you. The answer is right there in the Bible for all of us to read. Okay, so now it's not such a big secret anymore, but I still think we easily overlook and miss the impact of this verse altogether--CHRIST LIVES IN US! When we are born again, we don't just ask this little Jesus to come and live in our hearts. We literally open up our entire lives to the strong, powerful Son of God so that He can live His vibrant and exhilarating life in and through us. Christ doesn't just sit on the throne of our hearts; He lives His amazing life through us.

Jesus said that He didn't come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. Every day of my life, Christ can fulfill God's righteous requirements through me! I don't have to strive--I simply allow Christ to live His life through me. Through my relationships, in my work, and in all of my day-to-day moments, all I need to do is simply ask the Lord to live His life through me.

So what does this practically mean to you? It means that you no longer need to strive to please God through your own efforts or to do things for God to make Him happy. You simply surrender yourself to God and allow Christ to live His life through you. Christ is the one who lives His life through you and keeps you from sin. As you allow Him to live through you, you can be sure that God's will is being accomplished in your life (see John 14:20-23, 17:23). Isn't that some of the best news you've heard in awhile?

If I'm to be completely honest, I need to tell you that I still sometimes battle with feelings of inadequacy mixed with legalistic striving. However, as I take this life-long journey of walking with Christ and allowing Him to live His life through me, I am reminded that life is not about me trying to please God. True life is Christ living His holy, righteous life through me. If I'm going to truly live for God, He must live through me. We can all have the life that we've dreamed of having--guilt-free! This is true living!