Picture this…your life is like a story. When you come to the end of your life you will be handed a book that has the title The Life of “Your Name”. This book will tell the story of your life—whether or not you made a difference on this earth, or if you lived life passionately. It will tell whether or not you kept going when life was tough or if you loved completely. It will tell of all the times you acted unselfishly and helped your dad mow the lawn or your mom wash the dishes. It will tell the times when you stepped out of your comfort zone and gave someone a compliment or respected your teachers. You will be the author of this book. And you will determine how great a book it will be.
Do you know what the most tragic story is? I found what I believe is the most tragic story one day while I was in my dad’s library. I noticed on the shelf a new book that was titled My Life without Jesus. The reason that I picked up the book was because the author of the book was Russ Austin (my dad). I thought surely this had to be another Russ Austin so I picked up the book and opened it. When I opened it up I was shocked to find only blank, white pages. Not a single word was in the book. This is the most tragic story— a life that was wasted, a story untold; a life that never lived the adventurous story that God had for them. John Piper says, “The greatest fear in life is not dying; it is realizing when you come to the end of your life that you have wasted it.”
In Don’t Waste your Life John Piper answers the questions, “What is life about? What is it for? Why do I exist? Why am I here? How do I not waste my life?”The world says just do whatever makes you happy. If sports make you happy, play sports. If having a boyfriend brings satisfaction, get a boyfriend. In I Corinthians 10:31 God tells us, “Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory or God.” In other words, the meaning of life is more than just being happy it is about glorifying God. If we glorify God with our lives, we don’t waste them.
What does it mean to glorify God? When I was younger I loved observing ants through magnifying glasses. Something so small looked ferocious with a magnifying glass. This is not glorifying God, making something small look larger. According to John Piper, glorifying God is like looking at the moon through a telescope. The moon looks like it is two centimeters wide from the earth but with a telescope you actually see that it is thousands of miles wide. In other words, to glorify God means to show him for who he really is.
If glorifying God is the reason that we are here, then when is God most glorified? According to Piper God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied with Him. In other words, when God is the thing that makes you happier than anything else that is when He is glorified the most.
For example, my favorite restaurant is Rosas Café in Midland, Texas. This is the greatest
Mexican food on the planet! The tortillas dough is hand made and then placed on a tortilla cooker that you can watch through the glass as you see the dough pounded and baked by the surrounding flames to perfection. The tortillas are immediately served and it is like a warm bite of heaven. The frijoles are authentic with Mexican seasoned rice. They also have perfectly marinated fejitas. The best part is it is inexpensive. I believe if we had this restaurant here I’d be as big as a house and all the other restaurants would go out of business.
As I speak about Rosas Café what am I doing? I am glorifying it. I like Rosas so much that it is glorified when I talk about it and it makes others want it too. In the same way, we are called to be so in love with Jesus that we can’t help but express our joy and happiness to others that we get from being with Him. As we live out God’s Word and experience the promises and joy that He has for our lives we will long to glorify him—whether it is in our sports, dance, studies, or work. This is why the Bible tells us whatever we do, do it to glorify God. Sports, dance, studies and work are filled with joy when we do them to glorify God. This type of life is one that is complete and contains meaning and joy. It is a wonderful story!
One of the greatest things about you all as Jr. High students your life is still before you. What will be your STORY? (click this link to watch a sweet video we watched)
The greatest stories are yet to be told. The best leaders are yet to be formed. The greatest books are yet to be written. The greatest presidents, athletes, dancers, actors, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, teachers, pastors, evangelists and world changers are yet to come!
Ryan Austin
Element Youth Leader
