On this particular day, I did not feel like I was living life to the fullest. I was organizing some things in 100-degree heat, sweating profusely and, to be honest, feeling a little martyr-like. Then, I began to remind myself that God appreciates my obedient service to Him whether anyone else ever even knows what I did.

The last thing on my mind was that I was living life to the fullest. You’ve probably thought… “Does anyone care that I’ve changed a dozen diapers of a sick baby today? Does anyone see the extra effort I put into our family meal? Does anyone know the extra hours I spent at work to make sure all the lose ends were tied up before the weekend? Does anyone care that I spend extra hours preparing to minister to the children at church?”

I would venture a guess to say that obscurity is one of our greatest fears – the idea that very few will ever know or care about my wisp-of-a-life spent here on this planet. I believe we feel this way because there is a God-given desire living in each of us that wants to have an impact on our world.

We have the invitation to allow ourselves to be transformed to be more and more like Christ, who lived life to the fullest more than anyone.

In our search for filling our God-given need for significance, meaning, purpose…. we tend toward going down the self-actualization road. Focus on your talents, your career, your expertise, your network, your skills, your potential, your needs, your future – is the battle-cry of our success-driven culture. Yet, the extraordinarily-lived life of Christ had nothing to do with his self-discovery and everything to do with Him losing Himself in God’s will and plan for his life.

Let’s stay focused on finding our deepest and most fulfilling joy through sacrificing our our lives up in true worship. Then, we will shine with Christ-like beauty and, at the end of our days, we’ll be able to truly say, “I have lived life to the fullest!”