Christ's Light

Six Characteristics of a Life well lived

I’ve come to a recent conclusion that there are six things that one should do or have done that would define a life well lived. And in order to enjoy the fullness of God and His fruits these six things are a must. But before I just dive right in and tell you these six intricate delicacies that will become a gemstone in your life, I must first point to Daniel 6. I was reading Daniel 6 the other night and kind of had a spiritual revelation about the character of Daniel and how much he really had a character that mimicked the character of God and these 6 things need to do the same. Daniel 6: 1-5 says “

“It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

You see Daniel was an honest accountable man. A man that could not only be looked at as a prophet of his day but he was more than that, he was a mentor. Daniel possessed qualities about him that were absolutely flawless. He was not only a man of his word during his work, but also even a man of his word outside of his governmental duties. Daniel distinguished himself among these officials (or satraps) by not only believing in God but also maintaining a valuable testimony to them in his private life. There was no fault to be found with Daniel. Yes, he had the obvious sin that every man has, but it was so negligible that the satraps said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man unless it pertains to the law of his God”. Daniel’s duty that he upheld mimicked the life and character of Christ the God he was serving, which is why he was so exceptional at what he did. Which leads me to point number one the first trait of a life well lived

- 1. Having a sustained cultivation of exemplary character

- The thing about Daniel that made him possess this was that things took place within in him not because of him. And this is true for you as well, you need to be a man or woman of God because God is in you not because you want to show off and have it be all about you yourself. You have to realize and want to do the things that bring glory to God whether or not you take the low way out approach. The low way out approach is becoming a servant and expecting nothing to come from it except that you are pleasing others because of what is in you not because of what is about you. The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and because of that, that is our calling as well.

- 2. Continued relief of a clear and clean conscience

-When our conscience is clear/ clean we are relentless after the heart of God. There are no distractions, no obstacles, nothing that can get in our way of the pursuit of God and God alone. Daniel had this present with him because he was not only clean and clear at work, he was clean and clear away from work and in everything that he did, and he did it for the love of Christ. Having a clear and clean conscience will bring about a tenderness that will awaken you to the deep things of God. You will have a freedom in your inner spirit and you will possess the ultimate characteristic of integrity. Everyone values a person of integrity.

- 3. There must be a personal delight of intimacy with the Almighty

-Both you and God have to be on great, no better yet excellent, speaking terms. You have to go after and relentlessly pursue the intimacy of God and the knowledge of God through prayer and intercession with all that you have. There is no other option. And you have to follow a great commandment that was presented by David in Psalm 27:4. Desire the one thing, the beauty of the Lord. There must be present within you the desire of that. You must talk and hear regularly from the Almighty, because without Him you are nothing. You have to possess and be led by the Holy Spirit in all things throughout life. It is the only way, you have to know and understand that he loves you and you have to know and understand within your inner man that you love Him. Intimacy is a two-way interaction, a two way street. Without intimacy there is no communication and no communication there is no relationship, without a relationship you are lost. Period. Daniel possessed this, because the Lord regularly spoke to him and gave him positions of power.

- 4. (Oh this one is one of my favorite because as much as we deny it it is so true) and it is the priceless inheritance of a lingering legacy.

We all desire to have a legacy that will be remembered as we leave this earth. WE all want to be the world changer. And that is okay there is nothing wrong with that. Look at Jesus, he was a radical that came in spoke “heresy, towards the religion of the time” revolutionized Christianity and was a world changer with a legacy that will live on in eternity. However, this legacy that we should desire should not only be a path to righteousness but should actually be lived out as a path of that. And this whole blog centers on this. A life well lived is a life that leaves a great legacy. There is nothing that compares to the gift of remembrance. So in order to have this become one of the six accomplishments of a life well lived we have to be radicals just as Jesus was a radical. We need to proclaim the Gospel just as he did, we need to walk in love, and live that life out of Love for God is Love. Then and only then will our legacy be even worth remembering, it just has to not become an idol. It cannot become about your legacy. Your legacy will become perfect and flawless when you proclaim the legacy of Jesus Christ and give him all the glory, honor, and praise. Do not make it about yourself.

- 5. Rare privilege of being a mentor.

-I mentioned this earlier, that Daniel was a mentor. It is one thing to be a teacher, best friend, boss, companion, husband, wife, but that does not compare to a mentor. This is the highest echelon of a relationship. What you have to understand about being a mentor is that in the positions I just mentioned you can be promoted, but a mentor is not promoted but rather they are chosen. Daniel was chosen because he was trustworthy, honest, the antonym of corrupt, and not negligent. We all need to choose mentors who reflect the character of Christ, in doing so we will follow and exemplify the character of Christ and we too will be looked at as mentors. To me, being a mentor is something I aspire to become. I desire to be such a man of God that people would look at me and not see the weak, broken, sinful, me but God shining within me, and that I could share that with anyone that I come in contact with. This very characteristic is why I highly admire Daniel. He was such a man of God in every aspect of his life. And I personally want to say that Josh Hawkins, you are one of my greatest mentors I’ve ever known!

- 6. Crowning reward of finishing well.

We all have this fear that we will end up in life battered, bruised, beaten, and broken. Yet that is the mark of the unsaved. When you enter into the Fullness of what God has to offer you will come to realize that this is not the case. There is an eternity waiting for you and anyone that desires to finish behind, and together with Christ. The world will sit here and say something like “This is the way the world ends not with a bang, but with a whimper” I have a prize for the first person that can tell me who said that. But that is so true, and my response to that is Oh Lord not this, anything but this.

Father I ask that you would come and embrace, comfort, and tenderize every weak and broken heart, including my own. You have a Son that I desire to know deeply that goes by the name of Jesus. You are the one thing I desire Lord, and I just ask that you would come and reveal your Jesus to everyone that is desperate for you. In my weakness I admit that I desire these six amazing qualities to become a reality not just in my life but also in every life that is hungering for something deeper. Lord would you come and kiss your people with your loving kisses oh God. We need you and I ask that we would no longer drag your name through the mud and bash the character of God. Lord make us all radicals for your kingdom. Change us according to your will, make us into vessels that will partner with you and will willing obey the calling you have in our lives, with a Spirit of whatever is takes. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.