SUMMARY:
We do not have to be uncertain about how to live godly lives because our Father provided direction in His Word.

After salvation, many Christians sincerely intend to live godly lives, but before long, something unexpected happens.  Perhaps discouragement, personal problems, or old habits harass them or lead them astray.  This problem is not unique to new believers.  Some people attend church for decades and still wonder why they aren't growing spiritually or bearing fruit.

"What am I doing wrong?" Rita asked me with a look of exasperation in her eyes. "Why doesn't' God speak to me?"

Rita had known the Lord as her Savior for a year, but she had never "heard" His voice.

"What are you expecting to hear?" I asked Rita, trying to understand where she was coming from.

"His voice, the thundering, the boom – I don't know – you tell me!" she said, throwing up her hands in frustration.

People living in the darkness of this fallen world urgently need to see Godís radiant light. But they can't look directly on God in heaven. Instead, they discover God when they see His light reflected in the lives of those who are already connected to Him: Christians, just like you.

When you pursue God with a passion, His light grows brighter in your life, reflecting His brilliance to others and drawing them toward Him, out of the darkness. Your one life may seem as small as a disco mirror ball dwarfed inside a large room filled with needy people. But when God illuminates you, you can reflect His radiance powerfully in all directions.

I must confess that as a parent I don't always model servanthood. Too often I model the opposite. I enter a situation where something is needed, and I feel the urge to take care only of myself. I find myself rationalizing how busy I am, how tired I am, or how much I have already given of myself. I have the time, the energy, and the ability, but I just sit drinking my latte, wondering why things aren't being done "better."

We first have to recognize our own bent and that we are not serving in the most basic of ways. When we do, we will better understand why it's hard to give this type of heart to our children. It's difficult, even impossible, to give away something we don't already have.