Ultimately, the most important topic for Christians to consider may be the one that deepens their relationship with God, strengthens their faith, and empowers them to live out the teachings of Jesus in their daily lives. This is the ultimate.
Ultimate (noun) – the best achievable or imaginable of its kind.
Everyone Wants It
Everyone wants to live out the Ultimate. The ultimate partner, job, house, trip, experience, and life. And I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t want the ultimate children or grandchildren. I think most grandparents already believe their grandchildren are just that. But I can’t think of anyone who only wants to survive and barely make it through life, and then for it to simply end.
Think about where you are right now. What is your current situation or status? Is it ultimately what you had imagined?
Where To Start
Who is this Jesus you speak of? I believe this is where it starts and ends – with Jesus. People seek that which they believe will lead them to the ultimate experience in their life. We have been programmed by our environment and by everyone in it. We have been led to believe the ultimate has everything to do with everything except Jesus. And that’s the problem.
I have a business owner whom I coach who shared the following with me, regarding the programming of one’s environment. He said,
“I grew up in the hood. What you say about having a dream to go after is good. But growing up, my dream was the hood dream. Before I got into trouble and ended up with a felony, my dream ultimately was to become the dealer on the street corner. That’s where the money was and that was my dream!”
Ecclesiastes 5:10 ESV
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.
My goal is to get you to trust Jesus for the ultimate life. Not the hood dream, not the rich Executive dream, nor any other man-made dream. The ultimate life is living your life totally and only for Jesus.
In the Beginning, the Middle, and Until the End
In the beginning, Jesus was God. Jesus is the Alpha, the beginning. He spoke the world into existence.
John 1:1, 14 NIV
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us
Jesus was prophesied about throughout the Old Testament and the Old Testament is a shadow of Christ.
In the middle Jesus was God. God came to earth as a man to demonstrate His love and we know that man as Jesus Christ. He was technically living in the age of the Old Testament, when ultimately He proclaimed, “It is finished!” He was God in the flesh. He fulfilled the Old Testament, covenant, and prophesies (over 300 of them), to pay the debt for our sins.
Until the end, Jesus is God. Jesus defeated death. Not heard that from any other prophet in all their great claims. But Jesus was raised from the dead.
Revelation 1:18 ESV
I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
Jesus is now our High Priest. He has made it possible for us to live eternally in the presence of God – now and in the life to come.
Hebrews 4:14 ESV
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
So if all of this is true, and it is, with all He accomplished and in all the claims He made, then He can’t just be a good prophet. This can only mean that either He is God, or He is not a good profit because He is a liar.
If this is who Jesus Christ is, then why would we not totally give our lives to ultimately trust Him to live the ultimate life?
The Ultimate Life
This is a crazy world we live in. Life seems to be full of challenges, and it is. But Jesus came to give us the ultimate life. The problem is that we don’t see it that way. Again, our environment and culture have programmed us.
I believe this is the ultimate weapon of the enemy. For us to be programmed to think of Jesus and our relationship with Him as irrelevant to this life is the ultimate weapon of the enemy. The enemy wants us to think that we can only hope for the sweet by-and-by someday.
I Can Only Imagine
Just imagine. If you do not believe that the ultimate can and will be lived as a follower of Christ, then you are not living the ultimate life. And if you are not living the ultimate life, then this means you don’t believe He is the source of the ultimate life. Thus, the ultimate life will never be attained by you. Why, because it only comes through Christ.
And what is the ultimate life? Well, if you aren’t trusting Jesus by totally giving your life to Him, then you certainly know what it isn’t.
Romans 6:3-4 NIV
3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Take a moment to enjoy this song by Mercy Me, I Can Only Imagine…
The Ultimate Challenge of the Week
What one thing, just one thing, will deepen your relationship with God, strengthen your faith, and empower you to live out the teachings of Jesus in your daily life? I challenge you to give your life totally to Him every day. Trust Him to give you the ultimate life. It is not possible to do that without Him. It is all in vain. The best achievable and imaginal life is with Christ. So be it!
