It’s possible to believe that Jesus is my Savior from sin and that he has given me eternal life and yet spend my days ignoring the way he has set for me to live. 

I ignore the basics of the Ten Commandments. I make excuses and fail to love my neighbors. I don’t follow God’s plan to “let the word of Christ dwell in [me] richly” (Colossians 3:16 ESV) so that I can learn from the Lord and from other Christians to live in thankfulness and joy. 

These are dark days. These are, in many ways, hard days. As Christians, we know that better days are coming, but these days on earth are precious and meant to bless us and others as well. So how, in the midst of job loss, illness, boredom, fatigue, loss of purpose, do we make the most of and excel in our earthy walk?

“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long” (Psalm 25:4,5). The One who saved us from a life curved in upon itself and opened our lives to his glorious plan has some pretty good ideas for how we can live for him and others in this life as well. 

How do we discover this path? We ask the Spirit for guidance and then read the example that Scripture sets before us. It’s God’s roadmap for a hope-filled, joyful life here on earth as we walk toward the hereafter.