Living for Christ

Around the year 200 AD, a 22-year-old mother named Perpetua was arrested and put in a dungeon because of her faith in Christ. A native of Carthage in northern Africa, she had come from a wealthy family.

It would have been easy for Perpetua to yield to the pressure. The authorities told her they wanted her to be free: All she had to do was renounce her faith and conform to what was popular and accepted.

They even took her infant son from her, but she still refused to deny Christ. They finally gave her baby back to her, but she would not compromise.

While in that prison, she wrote in her diary, “The dungeon became to me as it were a palace.” She felt so filled with God’s presence that it did not seem to matter that she was confined in a horrible place. She had the joy of the Lord!

Eventually Perpetua was martyred, but she remained joyful and resolutely committed to her faith until the end. Like Paul, she knew that “to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

How easy it can be for us to have the wrong priorities and focus on the trivial things of life. We’re sidetracked and dominated by daily inconveniences…momentary setbacks…and short-term pleasures. Too often, we’re focused on the wrong kingdom.

Today, ask God to help you have the right priorities. Are you weighed down by the cares of this world, or filled with the joy of the Lord regardless of your circumstances? Is serving Jesus your highest priority? Have you surrendered your life fully to Him?

Right now, make sure that you have committed your time, talent, and treasure to God. Invest your resources in eternal things. Make it your passion to live for Christ.