Live for Jesus

But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Galatians 2:17-20

Do not love the world.

In his first epistle, John writes, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15). The message isn't to love the world a little, just make sure you love God more. It says do not love the world at all, nor the things of the world. We cannot love the world a little and love God at all. If we love God we will not love the world even a little. The world is a tool God has given us to bring glory to God. A workman makes sure his tools are well maintained and sharpened when needed, but a workman is not afraid to use his tools. A workman can perform better work when his tools are well maintained and functional. Likewise, when we know the laws of nature and use them well, we bring glory to nature's God.

Hate yourself.

Jesus said, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:26). The most natural thing to us is to care for family, friends and those closest to self, and there is no one closer to us than our natural self. However, to be Jesus ' disciple, we have to be willing to give up our natural inclinations to make discipleship our main priority. As we grow in discipleship, we will transform our natural inclinations, but we have to work to turn away from preserving what we think is good in preference for what God says is good.

Live by Faith.

If we have been crucified with Christ, we no longer have the right to determine how we should live. If we have been raised with Christ, we are now duty-bound to live by faith, allowing Christ to determine what we should and shouldn’t do with our lives. We are to rule over the earth as He who created it rules over it. We are to be good stewards of creation, but we are not to worship it or allow it to distract us from using it as a tool to bring glory to God. We are also to be responsible stewards of the relationships God has given us—family and non-family—but those relationships must come after our relationship with God.