Three Oranges: God's Will for EveryoneSample

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Orange 3: Impact

Impact is the final essential in God’s general will for His children. Relationship and growth make a strong one-two punch, but there’s more. God means for His children to make an impact in this world—and we long for impact too. None of us wants to be forgotten, passed by, without a legacy. We want our lives to count for something. We don’t want to be mourned for a day and forgotten for a lifetime! Perhaps this is why for centuries, kings and statesmen have commanded statues to be erected in their honor. They don’t want to be forgotten.

Thankfully, God also wants our lives to count—for Him and for His kingdom. I can unequivocally say that God’s will for your life and mine is that we make an impact for His kingdom. Married, single, old, young, rich or poor, we are meant to lead lives of impact. Dr. Rick Rigsby has a great way of putting it: “Leaving an impression is one thing,” he says, “but leaving a lasting impact is another.”¹ Living with impact for the kingdom is living in a way that draws others to Christ. We leave an indelible mark for eternity when our lives point to the Someone who is greater than all; when we are anchored securely to His great renown. “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul.” said the writer of Hebrews, “firm and secure”.

The only way we can make an impact, is knowing that Christ is the anchor that holds us fast. We achieve a legacy when we step out in faith and we obediently position ourselves to be used by Him. Lives that are anchored in Christ, are lives marked by their service to the poor, love shown to the unlovable, faith shared and godly gifts used. You don’t have to be a “big-timer” to make a big difference! Just step out in faith and serve.

God’s will for everyone is that we would know Him through His Son, Jesus Christ. It’s His will that we would grow in our relationship with Him, and that our lives would have lasting, eternal impact. Relationship ... growth ... and impact —those are the “three oranges” of God’s general will for us. You have to make it off the sinking ship to enjoy the rest of life. You have to grasp the essentials, or nothing else matters. By discovering these three essentials of God’s will, you establish a foundation upon which the specific will of God for your life can rest. As C. S. Lewis put it, “You can’t get second things by putting them first; you can get second things only by putting first things first.”²

Notes

1. Dr. Rick Rigsby, Lessons from a Third Grade Dropout (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2006), p. 1.
2. C. S. Lewis, “First and Second Things,” quoted in Walter Hooper, ed., C.S. Lewis: Readings for Meditation and Reflection (New York: Harper Collins, 1996), p. 14.

 You can get Gregg Matte’s book by clicking on Finding God's Will.