Upendo Ministries

There are moments when everything slows down—when the laughter fades, the plans unravel, and you’re left in the quiet, asking, What am I really living for?

I’ve asked that question in the thick of sorrow and in the hush of early mornings. I’ve asked it when my heart felt too heavy to carry and when joy didn’t come easily. I’ve asked it when everything I thought I needed slipped through my hands.

And in that stillness, one truth has stood unmoved:
To live is Christ.

Not achievement.
Not comfort.
Not being seen, or praised, or having it all figured out.
To live is Christ.

Those words aren’t just a verse to memorize—they are a heartbeat. A call to live differently. To live deeply. To live fully anchored in the One who never changes.

Living for Christ doesn’t always mean big crowds or bold platforms. Sometimes it means quiet faithfulness when no one is watching. It means praying when you don’t have the words. It means choosing love when bitterness would be easier. It means finding peace not in the absence of trouble, but in the presence of Jesus.

“To live is Christ” means my life isn’t mine—it’s His. Every breath is borrowed, every moment a chance to reflect His glory. It means I don’t have to strive to be enough, because He already is. It means that the mundane matters. The quiet obedience. The unseen sacrifice. The gentle word. The courage to keep going when you feel like giving up.

And when the road gets hard and life doesn’t look like you hoped it would, this truth holds firm:
If I have Christ, I have everything.

Even if dreams shift.
Even if people walk away.
Even if I’m walking through a season I never expected—if I’m walking it with Him, then I’m not lost. I’m found. I’m held. I’m living.

And when the day comes when this earthly journey ends, I won’t have to be afraid. Because the same Jesus I walked with here will be waiting to welcome me home. As the verse says, “To live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Gain, because we finally get to see face-to-face the One we’ve been loving all along.

So whether today is full of joy or laced with pain, let this truth wrap around you:
Your life matters. Your faithfulness matters. Your “yes” to Jesus, even when it’s whispered through tears, shakes the gates of hell and brings light to the darkest places.

You were made to live for something more.
And you are—because to live is Christ.

And there is no greater calling. No deeper purpose. No richer joy.
Just Jesus. And that’s more than enough.

-Vanessa