We are all given one life to lo live. Along with that life come certain unwritten rules. First, there are no do-overs. Life is not a game of golf. There is no such thing as a mulligan. We do not have the luxury of going back to the beginning to start over. Second, there are no extras. Life is not a video game where you earn extra life based on performance. Third, there are no extensions. It was Job who, speaking of man, said, “His days are determined, the number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits so that he cannot pass.” Lastly, there are no substitutions. Life is not a game of football where other players can play in the place of another. You cannot live for another and they cannot live for you. With these rules clearly in view, how we live the one life we have been given is of the utmost importance.

The way a person lives their life is a personal choice. A life can be lived cautiously or recklessly. It can be lived productively or destructively. I can be lived privately or publicly. Are there guidelines in place to govern how to live this one life? Absolutely. Exhortation exists for the Christian to remember their Creator, to allow God to direct their paths, to find rest in the Good Shepherd, to seek the good and welfare of others before yourself, to forgive as we have been forgiven, and to trust in the fact that through Jesus Christ it is possible to live a life that is pleasing to God.

I believe an often-overlooked directive for a Christian’s life is found in the Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer of John seventeen. Here that we see Jesus praying to His Father for the world to know Him through His life. As He prays to His Father, He also speaks of how He envisions each follower should live out their non-extendable, non-repeatable, and non-transferable life. His words of verse eighteen are simple yet powerful, “As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.” This verse highlights the believer’s mission to this world: Live Sent. This week we will examine what it means to live sent.