How to Make the Choice to Live: 4 Tips for Living on Purpose

Are you alive?

The answer in the affirmative may not be as positive as you think.

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I planted some tomato plants in a pot on the back porch. My ultimate goal revolved around creating a container vegetable garden on plant at a time (so my husband wouldn’t catch on to what I was doing).

The tornado that ripped through our house on April 12^th, 2020, also ripped through my goal.

As we cleaned up what we could, my husband found one of the tomato plants and worked to help it survive. He consistently provided the plant with water. As it grew, he staked it to provide it with stability. It was alive despite all the destruction around it.

The months passed, and so did the season for the tomato plant. Despite all my husband invested in the plant, it produced no fruit. It has never been more than a plant that was just alive.

Going back to the original question, it’s not so much a question of whether are not you are alive, instead it’s are you JUST alive?[pullquote]Are you more than just alive?[/pullquote]

We are called to be so much more than just alive. Each and every one of us has been designed on purpose and for a purpose. That unique purpose (heartseed) involves fruit production. If you are only alive, you produce no fruit. Not only are you fruitless, but you are using up resources that should be invested in fruit production – with some seeing returns of 30, 60, and even 100 fold.

Being alive is not the same as making the choice to live.

In Luke, Jesus tells the parable of the fig tree that isn’t producing fruit. Actually, there are several which leads me to wondering how much Jesus must have really liked figs if he was always talking about them and maybe I need to give figs a second chance if Jesus liked them that much, but that’s not where we’re going today.

Instead, this story comes up in Luke 13: 6 – 9. The man who owned the vineyard had planted a fig tree. After three years, it still wasn’t producing any fruit. He told his manager to cut down the fig tree. “It’s not producing anything so why should it use up soil?”

What Being JUST Alive Does:

It ignores the promises of God.

If God said it and you aren’t living it, then you are just being RUDE to God – and Bridgette Hester has a lot to say on that particular subject.

It uses resources designed for the harvest.

You have limited resources – especially when it comes to time. If you don’t use your resources for living then you are wasting the resources you’ve been given.

It distracts from purpose living.

If you are only trying to get by, then you will never be able to thrive.

It impedes fruit producing

Not only does it get in the way in your life, but also in the lives of the people around you.

It’s time to move beyond just being alive. Today we begin to pursue the promise of living.

How to Make the Choice to Live On Purpose

1. Learn the Truth. You can only live the Truth when you know the Truth. You can only know the Truth when you engage with the Truth through reading of the Word, studying of the Word, and sharing of the Word.
2. Make the Truth a priority. You can always find an excuse not to. You can also always find a way to get it done.
3. Believe the promises. When you know the Truth, you know the promises. Meditate on those promises until you believe them so completely that not even circumstances will knock those believes loose.
4. Make the choice to live. In God is fullness of Joy – not when things are perfect or when the stars align. Fullness of Joy is always – in Him and through Him.

Are you ready to do more than just be alive? Make the choice to live and you will be one step close to thriving in your journey.

You are one choice away from purposeful living.