What is Effectual Existence?

What do you want out of life? Happiness? Success? Comfort? Fulfillment? According to Barna, eighty-seven percent of millennials in the U.S. want a life full of meaning. Fulfillment is defined as the achievement of something desired, promised, or predicted. The meeting of a requirement or a condition.

Many people search for fulfillment and equate it with true happiness. Does this mean people who haven’t attained success cannot be happy, since fulfillment isn’t something you find but rather achieve?

Jesus advises us not to spend our lives pursuing things that cannot transcend our physical existence into the afterlife. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21).

When we surrender the throne of our heart to Christ Jesus, and become born again, the Holy Spirit takes up residency in us and we benefit from entering into an intimate relationship with Him. As we dial into Christ, our minds become filled with His desires for us and worldly distractions fade and amount to nothing more than background noise.

While we still operate in the realm of our mortality, worldly aspirations begin to pale in comparison to the promises God has provided through Christ. The apostle Paul wrote, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, perfect and pleasing will.” (Romans 12:2).

Fully surrendering means going all in. In Matthew 6:24, Jesus declares, “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”

The Bible says that God’s ways are higher than our ways and what is considered wisdom by man is foolishness from’s perspective (Isaiah 55:8-9; 1 Corinthians 3:19). God’s omniscience and foreknowledge certainly merit following Him. It is nonsensical to forge ahead without God, chasing your own dreams rather than trusting the only one who knows the outcome. Yet most people do.

Jesus illustrated this with parables in Matthew 13:44-46, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.” Words of wisdom from the wisest of the wise.

Our Thoughts Can Deceive Us

What we think and how we think has a huge impact upon who we truly are. Coveting is a sin of the mined. James 1:13-15 asserts, “each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.”

In Matthew 15:19, Jesus shared this valuable insight: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” In the sermon on the mount, Jesus taught, “You have heard it said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28).

Indulging one’s mind to satisfy their sinful nature leads down a dark tunnel where regret and guilt lurk in the shadows and leave one unfulfilled once the thrill of the indulgence has subsided. Those who continually flirt with their former sinful tendencies will continue to struggle immensely with temptation and sin.

Martin Luther said we cannot stop the birds from flying overhead but we can stop them from building a nest in our hair. Sin begins as a thought or desire and we deceive ourselves if we believe we can delight in the contemplation of that thought, without it developing and imprinting itself in our consciousness. The Holy Spirit empowers us to arrest seductive thoughts and replace them with wholesome ideas.

The apostle Paul illustrates this concept in Galatians 5:16-17. Sin has an antagonistic relationship with the Holy Spirit, therefore one cannot entertain sinful thoughts while dialled into the Spirit and vice-versa. They are counter balanced against each other. Having the daily discipline to embrace the Spirit and distance one’s self from worldly passions will pay huge dividends in their sense of legitimacy and fulfillment.

This is what Jesus alluded to when He said one cannot serve both God and money. In western culture we are taught to succeed not surrender. However, God sees things from a vastly different vantage point. One that includes an eternal perspective. When we trust God, we benefit from His wisdom and find ourselves walking with the wind, rather than against it.

Self ambition is at odds with surrendering your life to Christ. As long as your heart and mind are set on the things of this world, you will never fully embrace God’s plan for your life. He knows your strengths and weaknesses and He knows where and for what purpose they will have the greatest benefit. He knows you better than you know yourself.

God’s Workmanship

Paul declares in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Additionally, in Philippians 1:5-6 he adds, “being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion.”

Jesus presents us with a glorious opportunity to live a rewarding and fulfilling life. A life that animates goodness and spiritual vitality. Where we can discover the truths that it is better to give than to receive and that through selfless kindness, we can change the world for a person in their time of need. Collectively, the benevolent actions of the Christian church have had more impact on humanity than any other religion, foundation, government or organization in history. God is love and we are called to love (Matthew 22:37-40).

Each of us has a role to play, as Paul explains in 1 Corinthians 12:12-26. Even the less prominent features of any body are integral to the functionality of that body. He sums up his observations concisely in verse 27, “Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

As we continue to walk in the Spirit, in submission to God, He fills us more and more and our lives reflect His will and our desire to sin becomes less and less. As we dial into God, we subsequently spend less time focusing on worldly values, and the gravitational influence of sin becomes weaker and weaker.

Paul tells us in Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” and Jesus encourages us not to worry about our future and calls us to Him; “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matthew 11:28-29).

Christ offers fulfillment that cannot be obtained through any other worldview or pursuit. Only Jesus can facilitate a truly effectual existence that lays to rest the anxieties and struggles of not measuring up in this world because He has experienced it Himself (Hebrews 4:15). He provides peace of mind that we are not only valued and loved in this life but that He will never fail us today, tomorrow or for all of eternity.

Paul’s encouraging words in Philippians 4:4-7, are as relevant today as the day he wrote them. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Amen!