Pursuing High-Quality Christianity

By Casey Cassady

“Never be too comfortable” is something I sometimes think about during my walk with Christ. It can be easy to settle for a life determined by what we have observed or how we view our worth. However, we must not forget that God is limitless and always has so much more to give. Accepting God as our Lord and Savior while He gifts us eternal life is just the beginning to what He offers us as followers of Him. We were not created to be “bare-minimum beings,” but to live a Kingdom-filled life. The things that God desires for our lives are much more than that for which we could ever choose to settle. We can live a high-quality life in Christ because we serve a high-quality God.

Ephesians 2:10 NLT says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” According to this verse, we are God’s masterpiece. Ephesians 1:5 NLT says, “God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what He wanted to do, and it gave Him great pleasure.”

“Masterpiece” is defined as, “a piece of work by a craftsman accepted as qualification for membership of a guild as an acknowledged master” (Google Dictionary). God is our Craftsman. He has created us in His image (Genesis 1:27). Through Salvation, God accepts us as completely qualified and adopts us as members of His family. He wants nothing less than the best for every masterpiece (person) He has created in this world.

You may be asking, “how can we have a high-quality life in Christ?” First, we must believe that we have access to everything that God offers. It is also important to know that despite what we have observed or been taught, there could be so much more to life. For example, many people who have influenced my childhood and adulthood were comfortable with having the same desk job and routine day in and day out. Every day was/is about 90% the same for them as the day before. They have reached their goals of degrees and finding a respectable job that pays the bills. Mind you, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. My parents specifically have been very hard workers their entire lives, and their careers and lifestyles work for them. But that does not mean my life was designed to replicate their patterns.

Over the past few years, I started meeting and networking with incredibly talented, goal-oriented, and creative people who were truly living the lives they felt God called them to live – despite everything they had to sacrifice to do so. Being a creative person myself, I enjoyed observing the lifestyles of these musicians, entrepreneurs, photographers, artists, and other creatives. It was eye opening to see how passionate they were about their careers while also making a good income for themselves. I reached a turning point in my life where I knew that once I pursued my God-given calling, I could experience a higher quality of life. I no longer wanted to choose to settle for what I was familiar or comfortable with. Since that time in my life, I have written and released my book called, “Chain-ged,” worked with a videographer to create several faith-based spoken word videos, and earned a master’s degree in Christian Ministry.  There are passions, skills, and even our own future masterpieces within us that God desires to pull out of us. If we genuinely want to live the life that God has planned for us, we cannot afford to settle for anything less!

Another area we can pursue quality in is relationships (both romantic and friendships). I remember a time when I focused on quantity in my relationships, rather than quality. I believed that having a lot of friends increased my worth. To me, it meant that I was liked by a lot of people. Unfortunately, my time and efforts with having those relationships were spread thin, making each of them very surface level. As I grew more into my identity in Christ, I began to not care as much what other people thought of me. I realized that having high-quality, meaningful relationships brought much more joy and value to my life. As I began to build and focus on these relationships, I learned from others how to truly add value with what I had/have to offer. We can add value to relationships by being intentional, managing healthy boundaries, and even going above and beyond for the other person as a form of connection.

Gary Chapman has a book titled, “The 5 Love Languages” (2015). Chapman identifies these love languages as words of affirmation, physical touch, receiving gifts, quality time, and acts of service. Love languages are often viewed as purely a romantic gesture. However, my pursuit of connection to others in friendships was broadened when I began implementing their love languages.

Aside from love languages specifically though, we must remember the importance of even doing “the little things.” Despite how busy we may be, regularly checking on the well-being of the people we have relationships with is important and could mean more to them than we realize. Never overlook the significance of asking others “how are you doing?” or “do you need me to pray with you?” Our partners and friends want to be thought of, and they want to us to show that we care.

I say that to say that we must be willing to demonstrate quality within our relationships; and when we do, we are then able to choose others who do the same. This allows both people to mutually bring value to what could be a high-quality relationship that provides a solid foundation and potential for sustainability and growth. This can also be applicable to our relationships with God. We can rest in God’s promises over our lives, but we must put forth a persistent effort to know, love, communicate with, and obey Him. Despite any of these things, His love is unconditional. But a high-quality relationship with God can never be experienced if we are not intentionally pursing Him – and pursing Him well.

Having wonderful things in life is very possible in Christ. God did not settle when He created us. Therefore, we must not choose to settle for things in life that are not ordained by Him. When we are prayerful with who and what we choose to invest in and are willing to contribute the value that we do, we can live a beautiful life that pursues and experiences only what is best for us. This not only brings us joy, but it pleases God because He is our Craftsman, and we are His masterpiece.

References

Chapman, G., 2015. The 5 love languages. Chicago: Northfield Pub.

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