God Won’t Waste Your Life
Every time I check LinkedIn these days, it ends the same way—in dismay, envy, and discontentment.
When my son was born, I stepped back significantly from a professional life, leaving the full-time workforce after fourteen years. There are times when I am filled with gratitude for this season—a dream fulfilled to be home with him, to have flexibility over our day, to work when I can, to volunteer at church, and to enjoy deep friendships with other moms over mid-morning playdates.
But at the same time, I have much less control over my day than I thought I would, as a full-time, primary caregiver. My energy is often drained by the time I have any margin to create or pursue my dreams and passions. And I am significantly limited in what I can do or participate in by the availability and cost of childcare.
LinkedIn, then, plays like a highlight reel of what could have been, through the friends and former colleagues who work impressive jobs for important people doing exciting things.
Before checking these updates, I felt accomplished to have potty trained my son on the second try. That morning, we attended the children’s story time at our library and I finished some income-generating work. It was a good week. But all of that looked so paltry and small by comparison. There’s nothing I did that would be “LinkedIn worthy.” What is the measure of my life, then?
It would be easy to blame my discontentment on our culture’s expectations for women to “have it all.” But this is deeper—and theological. I’ve ingested a version of Christianity where the pressure is on and I’ve got to keep up a performance of impressiveness as if to say, “See? I’m doing something that matters.”
The fruit of this perspective is the frustrated, discontented heart that emerges each time I open social media. But, I want to use my life well—because the time, talent, and treasure God has given me is real. So how do I know I’m not wasting my life?
The Freedom of Christ
Even as I write down these thoughts, shame washes over me. Surely the answer is simple—do more! Wake up earlier, work harder, push myself to maximize every minute. Or, it could be the opposite—how dare I hold these desires at all? Perhaps if I could just crack the code and get every part of life in perfect harmony, then I would be sure I’m not wasting it.
There is no perfect schedule or strategy or life balance that will satisfy this search or calm our restless hearts. And even if there was one, let’s be honest; we couldn’t keep it. We are weak. We fail. We fall into laziness when discipline is needed. We strive for selfish gain when we should exercise contentment.
Instead, there is one comfort—Jesus already lived the perfect life. And miraculously, his record of righteousness is now ours, and there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ” (Romans 8:1).
If we are in Christ, we are not being measured by our success or failure—the standard has already been met! When God looks at our lives, he sees the infinitely significant life of his Son and so calls us good and faithful servants. Our daily reality, then, does not have to be the rollercoaster of striving and wallowing but the freedom and rest that come from knowing his mercies are new every morning for us.
The Call of Christ
Oh, the hours I’ve wasted in envy of another woman’s life and calling. I have fallen, too many times, into the trap of thinking if only I were more like her, then I could have a significant, fulfilling life like hers. If I were a better writer like her, smarter like her, managed my time like her, needed less sleep like her, had fewer health issues like her, had a family or financial situation like her—then I too would have a thriving side hustle, creative endeavor, or impressive ministry position.
But the call of a Christian is not to be like her; it is to be like him. Our call is to follow Christ and to be made more and more into his image. I think back to an exchange between Jesus and Peter, at the very end of John’s Gospel. Peter is wondering why his ministry and death will look different than another disciple’s. Jesus responds with a pointed, “What is it to you?” Or, Peter, that’s not your concern—you follow me.
We have the same call. Practically, I can trust that in God’s sovereign care and goodness, he has given me this body, this home, this family, this church—and this call to follow him. And as I follow him, he will refine my desires and dreams and bring them into increasing alignment with his will. This is the daily submission of the Christian walk, believing he is who he says he is, and trusting that his plan for my life is far better than any ideal alternative I may hold.
The Glory of Christ
If I am free in Christ and as I am becoming transformed more into the image of Christ, the metric for a worthy and well-lived life changes drastically. Why? Because the example of Christ is upside down to the rest of the world. He humbled himself to the lowest possible place, death on a Roman cross, before being exalted above every name.[1]
And as Paul tells the Colossians, we have died with Christ, are raised with him, and will one day appear with him in glory.[2] How do we understand this mystery? Courtney Doctor equates this idea to flying on an airplane: Wherever the plane goes, we go![3] That means, what Christ has accomplished—whatever is his—it is ours, too.
Our lives are not actually ours to “waste” or make much of—for God has already made them precious because they are hidden (meaning safe) with Christ.
Does this mean we stop caring about how we use our time, talent, and treasure? By no means. Our reality in Christ changes how we see everything—like getting a new pair of glasses with the right prescription. Everything is in focus now.
Motherhood, then, presents an invitation to live as if Christ’s example for us is real—to serve, to sacrifice, to give of ourselves. This season is not ultimately a limitation but an opportunity to be united with our Savior and glorify him in all we do. Let us seek to live lives worthy of our calling in Christ,[4] LinkedIn post-worthy or not.
[2] Colossians 3:1-2
[3] Doctor, Courtney. In View of God’s Mercies: The Gift of the Gospel in Romans. Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press, 2022.
[4] Ephesians 4:1
