01. Made for More.
You Were Made for So Much More Than This
What is the real purpose of your remaining years?
That question gets harder to ignore as we get older.
We spent decades working, paying bills, raising families, and carrying responsibilities. We looked forward to the day when we would have more freedom to choose how to spend our time.
Now, for many of us, that day has arrived.
But freedom to do what?
Retirement is a reward, not a purpose.
We can finally have time for ourselves, and quietly allow ourselves to become the purpose of everything we do.
Another purchase. Another trip. Another project. Another day filled.
Meanwhile, the years keep passing.
What do we want those years to produce?
Enjoy the Gifts. Answer the Call.
I enjoy fishing. I treasure time with family. Rest, laughter, and recreation are good gifts from God.
The question is whether we are making room for the work Jesus entrusted to us.
Have we arranged our lives so completely around our own enjoyment that there is little room left for someone who needs to know Him?
Jesus said:
“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you.”
Matthew 28:19-20 WEB
There is no retirement clause in that commission.
God did not cancel your good works the day you retired. Ephesians 2:10 says we are created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Some of those works may still be waiting for you.
Our circumstances change. Our strength changes. The ways we serve may change.
But we still belong to Jesus. We still have people to love. And we still have something to give.
You Have More to Offer Than You Think
Think about what God has brought you through.
You have learned through successes and disappointments. You have carried grief, faced uncertainty, solved problems, and watched God provide.
Those experiences can help someone else.
You may have time to listen to a discouraged disciple-maker. You may be able to pray regularly with a leader who feels alone. You may have skills that can remove an obstacle from someone’s ministry.
Disciple making movements are multiplying around the world. Ordinary people are coaching others, who are coaching others. Many are being raised up through online training, from a home much like yours.
I am 75. I used to travel, and I can’t anymore. But from my home I coach people on every continent.
Your remaining years could become someone else’s beginning.
Picture a younger believer who needs encouragement.
You begin meeting regularly. You open Scripture together. You ask what they are learning, what they will obey, and whom they can share it with.
You help them practice. You pray for the people they are reaching. You encourage them when things are difficult.
Eventually, they begin helping someone else do the same.
Your investment starts reaching people you may never meet.
That is a purpose worth getting up for.
What Are We Working Toward?
I want to give my remaining years to helping make multiplying disciples, with the goal of helping finish the Great Commission by 2033.
That is a vision to work and pray toward. It calls me to consider how I spend today.
Who can I encourage?
Who can I help learn to make disciples?
What has God entrusted to me that could help the gospel reach another household?
The calendar will keep moving whether we answer those questions or avoid them.
We cannot reclaim the years behind us.
We can offer Jesus the years ahead.
Your First Assignment
This week, take one quiet hour with God. Put your phone aside and turn off the television. Ask Him:
“Lord, what do you want me to do with this season of my life?”
Then listen. Write down what He says.
Begin with what your current choices reveal. Where do your time, attention, and money actually go? Then write what you want to change, and choose one concrete action. Put it on your calendar and follow through.
Throughout this series, we will explore practical ways to serve through coaching, prayer, relationships, technology, and resources.
But we begin with a decision.
Will you give Jesus room to direct the rest of your life?
You were made for so much more than this.
Want to go further?
All ten Zúme discipleship lessons are on my site, free, with the video and the same teaching notes I use when I train leaders in person. Take them on your own, take them with a few friends, or join me live on Zoom and I will teach them to you face to face. When you finish, tell me and I will coach you personally.
Start the ten lessons:
https://internationalafricanmobilization.com/training/terrys-zume-teaching-series/
Join a live training –
https://zume.training/join-a-training
Your gift would be tax deductible and overseen by Northside Christian Church, our sending church.
(Northside Christian Church links to https://pushpay.com/g/mynorthside?fnd=X2n_YvU-U0C8yPuNWc9d5A&lang=en&src=pcgl)
Next steps: Tell us where you are and how we can help. Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_Ssrmh423M