By DR. DAN ERICKSON
If you had unlimited resources and complete freedom to fail, what would you attempt with your life? Would you live the life you are now living? What would you change? What would your life become and what would you do with it?
I have coached hundreds of individuals and couples and I have come to the conclusion that the average adult is not making a life at all; they are simply making a living. They do not know where they are going, let alone how they are going to get there.
What is the life you want to live? How would you live it and what is keeping you from attaining it?
Those are the million dollar questions. I wish I had a dollar for every time I have met with people, asked them these questions and watched as a glaze came over their eyes. It’s as if I asked them the impossible. They seem to think there is no way that God would help them to achieve their dreams, so they don’t even try.
Many believe that they are not good enough, holy enough or close enough to God to experience his magnificent plan for their lives. But I wonder how good Peter was when he walked on water. How holy were the first disciples when they were commissioned to change history? They were ordinary just like us (if you don’t believe me, read the New Testament), but they chose to give their lives to something extraordinary.
So how do we start this journey to reach our potential and destiny?
That question is too weighty to answer in one article, so look for more to come. But I’ll start answering it here.
Scripture tells a story about a wealthy young man who came to Jesus and asked what he must do to have eternal life. Christ responded that he must keep all the commandments. The young man responded that he had done this. He then asked Jesus what else he needed to do. Jesus responded, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven; come and follow me” (Matthew 19:21). As we read on, we learn that the man sorrowfully walked away from Jesus, because he could not bear to give up his wealth.
If we are going to discover our God-given potential and destiny, we must first leave every competing loyalty. We must be rid of any thing or any relationship that comes between us and God’s plan and purpose for our lives. When I reveal this crucial first step, most people simply walk away with their heads bowed and I never hear from them again.
My only conclusion is that the cost is too great. Yet reality is that we cannot experience God’s best for our lives without the willingness to set aside the things that are odds with his values. As Jesus informs us in the gospel of Mark: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it" (Mark 8:34-35).
What are you waiting for? Lose your life for Christ’s sake and you will find life to the fullest – abundantly more than we can ask or think. Then imagine the possibilities!
