LEARNING DAILY

Proverbs 19:3, People ruin their own lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord. (New Living translation)

Proverbs 27:19, As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the person. (New Living Translation)

I watched the service at NorthRock Church again this week to see the last At the Movies movie. The movie was Ford Versus Ferrari. It centered on the main character -Shelby – no longer being able to drive due to a heart condition; he needed to do something else to fill in his need to be around racing. He eventually was hired by Ford to build a race car to compete with the Ferrari brand. While sitting in his car, after finding out that he could no longer drive he asked himself an important question, who are you?

That is a question that each one of us might need to answer. Pastor Jonathon Moore began his teaching with telling us to answer the question by “reflecting on our life by examining our heart because our heart reflects our life. Ultimately the answer lies not with the outward appearance of who we are or the things we have but the condition of our heart.” He went on to say, “outwardly we might look like we were winning at life” because we have a big house, drive a new luxury car, have prestige, and positions in this or that organization, but the “inside is not at ease”.

So I ask you, “Who are you?” Who are you becoming? The movie was also about winning. Would the Ford Shelbi beat Ferrari in the 24-hour race at Le Mans? Winning. Winning was been so important to me when I coached; it was actually important in almost everything I did. What does winning look like to you? “What does winning look like when it comes to your family, life, your faith?” asked Pastor Moore. It’s a great question isn’t it. Be careful how you answer it because it reflects your heart, wrote the author of Proverbs.

I really enjoy the book Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman because it tells us we have to get out of the stands, no longer watch others live out their faith. We need to be an active participant in our life – especially as followers of Jesus Christ. That means we choose the right reasons and right motives for the things we do to walk the narrow way into eternity with God. 1 Corinthians 9:24 says it this way, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.”  As a Christian, we cannot be merely content to merely be in the race or content to watch others run it. No! Christians, every Christian must be diligent in the way they live their lives; their life must be lived for the honor and glory of Christ. No longer be content to just check off a few boxes and say we are good.

It is important for every Christian to know that God has a purpose for your life. Pastor Moore said, Christians need to know why we are in the race of life because winning requires us to know. As we get out of the stands and into the race God gives clarity to us about His love for us and about the discipline required to read/study/meditate on His word, to being diligent in prayer.

So, who are you? Are you becoming the person God designed you to be?  1 Corinthians 9:25 continues, “And anyone who competes for the prize is temperate, in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.”  May I just tell you that all the discipline we do to be who Jesus Christ desires us to be, the diligence of our walk on the narrow way, and all we do to live our life to win that imperishable crown will be worth it when we see our Lord face to face and He welcomes us into His eternal kingdom