"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ- the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow to attain to the resurrection of the dead." (Philippians 3:7-11) So, you want to know about living the life: being a true disciple, and not just a hypocrite (or fake, for those who don't know the word) that calls himself a Christian but does not act it. This passage is one of those things which is at the heart of it. One cannot simply say that he or she goes to church and youth group and expect that to suffice. It requires commitment to be a true disciple: it means sacrificing things in order to follow Christ. Now don't get me wrong: I'm not talking about killing things to please God. What I mean is giving up things that God says are wrong, and anything that hinders you in your relationship with Him- even if that means breaking up with your boyfriend or girlfriend. To be a true disciple is to follow Christ, 100 percent, even to the point of losing your own life. Now I'm not going into detail about hypocrites: I'm sure you've met them thousands of times. They are the people who go to church on Sundays and act fine, but the rest of the week don't follow through with what they say they believe. They are the people who are described in the James 2:22-25: they look at the law, then go away and completely forget about it. But this article isn't about hypocrites- it's about how to live your life for Christ. Now one of the staples of the life of a disciple is the Word, or the Bible. If you want to live life for Him, to the fullest, you need to be having time in the Word daily. There is no way you can know what He wants you to do, and no way He can speak to you on a regular basis, if you are only hearing His Word on Sundays and Wednesdays. You've got to get into it; you've got to love it (see Love the Word). This is absolutely essential. The next thing to look at is your prayer life. Have you been really spending any time worth mentioning talking to God? A true disciple of Christ will not only take time out of his or her day to talk to God; he will talk to God during the day, while driving or walking, doing homework, whatever. An active relationship with God is going to mean more than saying grace before meals and praying after devotions. But being a disciple is more than morning devotions and prayer. These things fit in with it, but there is so much more to it. As you get into the Word and talk to God, take a look at your life. Is He truly the highest priority? And don't just automatically give that Sunday school answer that "Of course He's got the highest priority- He sent His son to die for me and I love him." We're not in Sunday school, and nobody's gonna hear your thoughts but God- and He already knows the truth. If you've got anything that is getting in the way of your relationship with Christ, you've got to reduce or more than likely remove it. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Lastly, just keep your focus on Christ. Always have your eyes set on the goal: never lose your sight of Him. Remember who you are serving, and pursue Him with reckless abandon- you will not be disappointed. BACK