One Life

[Jesus] died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

2 Corinthians 5:15

Missionary C. T. Studd was born into a wealthy family in England in 1860. By the time he was 16 years old, he was an expert cricket player. (Cricket is an English sport played with a bat and a ball.) C. T. had everything going for him, but he gave up his comfortable life for God.

Giving away a large sum of money he’d inherited, C. T. dedicated himself to sharing the gospel in China, India, and Africa. He lived out the words of today’s verse. He was willing to turn his back on an easy life to serve God as a missionary. C. T. Studd had a motto he lived by: “If Jesus Christ is God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.”

God calls everyone to follow him, but he doesn’t call all of us to follow him in the same way. For C. T. Studd, following God meant being a full-time missionary. God has called others to be pastors, doctors, nurses, soccer players, teachers, sanitation workers, waitresses, computer technicians, stay-at-home moms, and more. The Lord needs people in all areas of life who will share the gospel with the people they see each day.

You don’t need to wait to be an adult to share the good news of Jesus with those around you. Your mission field is right where you are today. The people you encounter need Jesus just as much as people in a foreign land do. Sure, anyone in our country can buy a Bible, and there are churches all over, but that doesn’t mean people will read a Bible or go to church on their own. The students you pass in the hallway at school or in your homeschool group, the players on your sports team, the student who takes music lessons right after you—any of those may need you to share your faith with them.

Today’s verse says those who believe in Jesus should live their lives for him, but it doesn’t say how. God can use each person right where he or she is. Ask him to show you how you can live for him right now.

Look around you. How can you share your faith with those you encounter? Is there someone next to you in class or at lunch who might need to hear about Jesus? Is there someone you could invite to church? Ask God to show you who needs to hear about him.