Live for Jesus

When I started dating the young lady who became my wife, she worked at a Christian bookstore in the music department and knew EVERY contemporary Christian music artist. At the top of her favorites list was Evie Tornquist (Karlsson); the world knew her as Evie.

Evie was born in America to immigrant parents from Norway. She has recorded over 30 albums in English and various Scandinavian languages. Her first album in the U.S. was released by Word Records in 1974¹. My wife’s favorite song from Evie at that time was “Live for Jesus,” which continues to typify my wife’s life. Here’s the chorus:

Live for Jesus,
That’s what matters,
And when other houses crumble, mine is strong.
Live for Jesus,
That’s what matters,
That you see the light in me and come along.

– Evie Tornquist, Live for Jesus, YouTube: https://youtu.be/76k2fNudq1s
Available for sale from Evie – Never the Same – Amazon.com Music

As they say, opposites attract. While my wife listened to Evie, I rocked with Larry Norman² and the Resurrection Band³. Though my wife and I remain opposites, we also remain deeply in love, first with Jesus and with each other.

Live for Jesus

Evie’s hit song, “Live for Jesus,” but what does “live for Jesus” mean?” As Christians, we know what being born again, filled with the Holy Spirit, and demonstrating our new life through “good deeds⁴” means. With cars, kids, and careers, how do we live for Jesus?

The Bible gives us a description of living for Jesus.

Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.

Colossians 1:10 NLT (biblehub.com))

Living for Jesus motivates everything we do. Our lives aren’t pulled in a thousand different directions. Our lives aren’t pulled by any “thing.” It is by whom we are pulled, and that is singular: Jesus.

Which must I do, be late for work or talk to my son’s teacher about the lie he was caught in yesterday? What is my motivation? Jesus. Where do lies come from? Satan, the father of lies⁵. The answer is in my motivation. Perhaps I can juggle both demands, but my higher motivation is to protect my son from evil because evil is the enemy of Jesus. It is Jesus for whom I live.

My example is not intended to be gospel. Instead, it is intended to help us adjust our thinking. When pleasing Jesus is the preeminent motivation in our lives, then we have the peace of Jesus⁶, and all of our other motivations are judged by living for Jesus.

One Motivation Brings Peace

Career advancements, family decisions, parachurch activities are all judged by a single motivation: Is this moving me closer to living for Jesus or away from living for Jesus? Suddenly, when you and I have a single motivation, our lives become less complicated, less chaotic. We no longer have equal motivations competing for our energy; we only have one.

“Live for Jesus, that’s what matters. And when other houses crumble, mine is strong.” Evie’s song was relevant in 1979; it is even more so now.

** No part of this article was produced by artificial intelligence (AI). **

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Footnotes

1. Evie. (n.d.). Christianmusicarchive.Com. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from https://www.christianmusicarchive.com/artist/evie ↩︎
2. Wikipedia contributors. (2023, August 15). Larry Norman. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Larry_Norman&oldid=1170427658 ↩︎
3. Wikipedia contributors. (2023, December 6). Resurrection Band. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Resurrection_Band&oldid=1188597163 ↩︎
4. Bible Gateway passage: 1 Peter 2:12 – English Standard Version. (n.d.). Bible Gateway. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Peter%202%3A12&version=ESV ↩︎
5. John 8:44 – The Children of the Devil. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/john/8-44.htm ↩︎
6. John 14:27 – Peace I Leave with You. (n.d.). Bible Hub. Retrieved March 12, 2024, from https://biblehub.com/john/14-27.htm ↩︎