2 John 1:8 (ESV)
8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward.

In our last blog, we focused on watching our wills, emphasizing that we must put God’s will before our own. The next step is making sure that we apply our wills to real life so that our ways are aligned with our wills. If we desire to put God’s will before our own, that will be seen in the way we live our lives. This is precisely what we need to watch, examining our ways regularly, and making sure that they are pleasing to God. Pleasing God is the top priority of Christians, and if we are to please Him, our wills and ways must be in accordance with His.

Our ways must be scriptural. As we watch our ways, the question is, are we living according to the Word of God? Luke tells us that the early Christians continued in the apostles’ doctrine (Acts 2:42). We usually apply that statement to what Christians were teaching and practicing doctrinally, but it also applies to their manner of life. Their way of life involved living the way the apostles taught them to live. We must make sure that ours is too. Is that not the purpose of revelation? The Bible was written to change lives.

Titus 2:11-12 (ESV)
¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

How does the grace of God teach us? It does so by the inspired Word of God. We, however, have to apply that Word to our way of living. That is what we must watch. The way of God may not always be popular, and it will most certainly be a difficult path to travel at times, but it is the only way that leads to life.

Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV)
¹³ “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. ¹⁴ For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Are you on the way that leads to life? Many people think they are, but they are wrong. The Bible warns us about this.

Proverbs 14:12 (ESV)
¹² There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

According to Jesus, the majority of people are going the way that leads to death. How do we know that we are not deceiving ourselves about our way of life? The answer is, we compare our lives to the Word of God and make sure that we are living according to it. This involves renouncing ungodliness and worldly passions, and living soberly, righteously, and godly in this world.

Let us keep watch on our ways so that we will win a full reward in the end.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.