What does it look like to engage a life that matters? To avoid entanglements, skip the irrelevant, and move forward to be a seasoned believer. And what does it look like to apply practical decisions each day that make a difference in this world. You are only given a certain number of days. How can you make them really count and match God’s heart? What does it look like to carry out God’s agenda in your daily living?

Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth.” (Mt. 5:13) I wonder what He meant. Why did God say this? It’s as if He is telling His people to ponder a bit to get at His meaning. Jesus want us to read between the lines.

Let’s use this as an opportunity to explore what it’s like to be involved in things that matter to God. Let’s explore how to live inside His agenda and match God’s heart.

What Does Seasoned Look Like?

God wants you to be involved in His reach to individuals and to the billions currently alive on this earth. He also wants you to be mature in your faith, not an infant. To think like an adult believer. To be wise and discerning. And He wants you to become practiced in patterns of faith and obedience.

Seasoned means practiced or matured. It also means flavor, spice, attractive character. So we can conclude that God not only wants you to live your life well and engage your purpose on earth. He wants you to help season the world and change the flavor of it. This is a good time to ask how you can make a difference in your community and in regions of the world far beyond the touch of your life. You may feel small compared to the massive work that must be done to tell people about Jesus – and train them in discipleship.

The challenge is finding effective ways to live a meaningful daily life with the enormous scope of this task. How do you partner with the Lord? How do you become His valuable servant? After all, you are one rather small person.

God’s Heart

God cares deeply for you. For all His children. For a lost and desperate world. He sacrificed Himself for all people across all centuries. He wants to build up and edify humanity. But He wants you to be part of that process of His redemption. This is where it helps to entertain questions and explorations of your desires to participate in God’s agenda. Ask more questions. Apply your mind, time, and creativity in practical ways to move in the direction of seasoned.

Things You Can Do to Explore How to Match God’s Heart:

• Spend time every day alone with God, in His Word, taking in His very unique flavor.
• Start defining your individual skill sets, strengths, and available resources.
• Explore how you can implement your resources and skills to touch other lives in practical and creative ways.
• Explore how to employ those skills in your church, community, and the world. This may mean connecting with global organizations that have networked in your community and around the world.
• Calendar how and where you can devote time to partner with organizations that are doing the job.
• Pray! The Lord has promised to answer and guide you as you ask and trust Him.
• Claim Scriptures the Lord lays on your heart to apply to this process.
• Be willing to step outside your comfort zone and do things that may feel scary.
• Worship God who includes you in His plan no matter how great or tiny your part.
• Keep fear and pride out!

Salt and Water

Now we need to look again at God’s great heart. Just like water follows salt, reaching to others follows God’s love. His love marks a trail to walk on, and that trail starts in His great heart. Are you familiar with that trail? Can you show another person the path into God’s heart? Do you know how to “salt” a person and lead them to living water?

To look at God’s great heart means to look at His love. God’s love helps you be you. It helps you interface and communicate. It proves you care about another person. His love associates human value to each person and to your unique message of Christ. God’s love motivates you to provide a credible example. The power of example enables you to walk alongside a new believer to help them grow in their faith in Jesus. 

 

Practical Summary

Match your life with Scripture in every issue. Resolve to obey, pray about everything, surrender in every detail, and practice godly responses that align with God’s principles. Explore your gifts and skills. Creatively connect to get involved. Be courageous and humble. When your daily focus is to become congruent with God’s love, you actually match your heart with God’s great heart of love! That’s a “wow.” If you remain surrendered at the foot of the cross – that’s credibility! Here is where you discover the secret to match God’s heart.

Invite others to learn about Jesus by being “matched to God’s heart.” Invite others to know God. Teach them how to “fall down and worship God, exclaiming – ‘God is really in you.’ “ (1 Cor. 14:25) Give others a peek into God’s heart by sharing His love.

Are you being the salt of the earth and leading others to the Living Water? (Mt. 5:13; Jn. 4:10) Do you fall down and worship God? Do you know – really know – that God lives in you?“

“Be imitators of God, therefore, and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a living sacrifice.” (Eph. 5:1-2)

Match God’s heart!

Article developed from 1 Cor. 14:20-25.