On Monday eighteen year old United States swimmer, Katie
Ledecky, set a new world record in the 1,500 meter freestyle, beating her own previous mark. We all know that Ledecky did not jump in the pool for the first
time this week, this year, last year, or even a couple years ago to take up a
leisurely hobby. Even with much God-given talent, she has worked very hard to
get where she is. Why?
Has she worked hard merely because coaches told her to do
so? Has she put in countless hours
working out, practicing, and sacrificing merely because of continual nagging by
her parents? Neither of these is sufficient. Somewhere in Katie Ledecky there
has to be a passion, dare I say an awe, when thinking about being the best
swimmer in the world. It is this strong desire that stands behind her
self-discipline to be in the water multiple times a day, as well as to give up
much that other girls and young ladies her age enjoy. In this is a lesson for
every follower of Jesus Christ.
In his book, Dangerous
Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges Of Pastoral Ministry,
Paul Tripp writes the following about self-discipline and ministry: “I am more and more persuaded in my own life
that sturdy self-discipline, the kind that is essential in pastoral ministry,
is rooted in worship.” I would add that
the same could be said for any Christian: Sturdy self-discipline, the kind that
is essential for reading the Bible and praying regularly; for using our gifts, resources,
and time to serve others; for making time to care for and help fellow
Christians grow; for building relationships so that people can come to know
Jesus—this self discipline arises from a deep, intense, passionate,
love-filled, faith-fueled worship of our amazing God!
The apostle Paul makes this very same point in 2 Corinthians
7:1. After sharing in chapters 3-5 with the Corinthians and us some
breathtaking promises that belong to everyone in Christ (what great good news!),
Paul turns to a call to holiness in chapter 6 before drawing this conclusion in
7:1: “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to
completion in the fear of God.” Paul’s logic is crystal clear: Based
upon all God’s promise we have in Jesus Christ and compelled by our love-fueled,
awe-inspired, God-centered intimacy with, and reverence for God, we should be altogether
devoted to honoring God by doing what pleases him and not doing what displeases
him. As the late author and theologian, John Murray, once wrote: “The fear of
the LORD is the soul of godliness.”
Bottom-line, what all this means for us is
that until we have a passion and desire for God, to find our joy in him, to be
enraptured with his greatness and his merciful and always-good work in us, we
will most likely never be motivated to make the small choices and exercise the
small disciplines we need to in order to serve him and others for God’s glory.
We will always decide anything and everything else is more important until we
are consumed by the awe of God.
Please join me in prayer that Psalm 42:1
would become true of us: “As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my
soul for you, O God.” When this is true of us no one will be able to prevent us
from serving Christ and others. And the impact upon our community and world
will be far more significant than a world record!
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