Wholehearted Christianity

Living the Purpose-Driven Life

Christians around the world are persecuted and killed every single day for proclaiming the truth. I can only imagine how the rest of the world shakes their heads in disbelief, unable to understand why anyone would give up their life. We all have causes we’re passionate about, but it’s worth asking the question… What makes Christianity so valuable that it’s worth dying for?

We all want something worth living and dying for. God wired us to live purpose-driven lives. The problem comes when people try to find their purpose in something else. Unfortunately, even as Christians, our sin nature sometimes drives us to find purpose in something outside of God.

Only someone whose heart was given over fully to something greater than themselves could make such a sacrifice.

Wholehearted is such an all-encompassing word. It can be intimidating if we acknowledge how much weight it holds.

We’re called to love God wholeheartedly (Deuteronomy 6:5). If we try to serve two masters, our heart will be torn in two. It’s impossible to serve God and money or God and academic achievements or God and career or God and friendships (Matthew 6:24). All these are gifts from God, but God should always be first and our love for everything else should be out of thankfulness for God.

Jesus loved us wholeheartedly, without reservation. In everything, we should imitate the way he lived. Though Jesus was fully God, he was also fully human like us. He lived, laughed, had friends, had moments of discouragement, and had moments of overwhelming joy. Yet through it all, he kept his purpose central. He came to earth to glorify and make the Father known. He came to give us life. That purpose led him all the way to the grave.

I earnestly want something to give my heart and soul to. I want to live fully for something that matters, and sometimes that desire can blind me from living for the Lord. What greater purpose in life is there than to know God and make him known? I know in my mind how true that it, but it’s hard in my heart to believe it. In the grind of college, it’s easy to become blind to my purpose. In my pursuit of friendships, experiences, accomplishments, and ambitions, it’s easy to look elsewhere for my purpose. But every time I try to give my whole heart to something else, I eventually hit rock bottom, and the Lord is so kind to remind me that my heart belongs to him and I should live like it.

There’s a wide range of reactions we might experience when we hear of a Christian who has been persecuted for their faith. After hearing so many stories of all that these wholehearted Christians have lost, I’ve almost become numb. It takes a lot for the shock to seep in. But when I really pause to think about it, it is shocking, because it forces me to consider the reality of death.

What will you do with your life? None of us know how long we’re going to live. If you looked back on your life today, what do you have to show for it? What have you contributed to the world?

It’s a maddening paradox between trying to live in passionate obedience to the great commission and letting go of trying to control our lives. We’re called to live on mission while holding our life with open hands. How do we do this? Appeal to God, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom,” (Psalm 90:12).

Remembering that our days are numbered will fuel our desire to give our whole hearts to God.

Easier said than done. I need this reminder just as much as any of you. Caught between apathy and anxiety that my life will be wasted, the mental torture is sometimes unbearable. I don’t have all the answers, but I do know that wholehearted Christianity has given me wholehearted joy.

I’m so tired of halfhearted Christianity. Where is the passion among Christians? At a Christian college, sometimes the passion is lacking. There’s no room to be halfhearted in this war for the King of Heaven. In America, being a Christian is often pretty easy. I know there are many exceptions, but some of us have gotten far too comfortable in halfhearted Christianity, forgetting that we have a limited number of days left. Make every single one of them count, and trust the Lord with the results.

God loves us wholeheartedly. What’s stopping us from doing the same for him?