Improving life! What does that bring to mind? A newer car or bigger house? Maybe you thought of a vacation home. Some would think about greater investment returns or retirement income. It might be anything. If your mission is to improve life, what do you improve first? Which part of your life did you pick? An answer like that may improve life a little, but there’s a much better answer!
Maybe improving life doesn’t start with yours. The great poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, said the answer lies in improving someone else’s life: It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself. And Emerson’s wisdom will improve your life more than cars, homes, investments, or retirement income. But there’s still a better answer.
Elijah was on Mt. Carmel in the showdown of a lifetime (I Kings 18). With his own life on the line, Elijah prayed for something we might not expect: Answer me, O LORD, answer me, that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again. Elijah prayed for a nation of sinful people. More importantly, he prayed for God to be rightly known. That’s a prayer! And that is almost the first essential step for someone whose mission to improve life.
Jesus’ mission was to improve life. As He left the Upper Room with His disciples, Jesus said, I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commands Me. Get up, let us go from here, (John 14:30-31). Does that hit you like it hits me? “…so the world will know that I love the Father…” Genuine love for the Father includes obedience. And His love for the Father was proved in His obedient death on a cross. His mission of obedience honored God and benefited others. That’s a life improvement mission! 
To meet the mission of improving life we must honor God & benefit others. There’s a great opportunity for you to do that in La Romana, Dominican Republic. Join us September 6-13 for Emerson’s ‘compensation’ and honor your Father, help someone else, and receive the blessing of your life!
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