May 8 (Romans 6:13)
Do not offer any part of yourself to sin
as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as
those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of
yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
(NIV)
Imagine that you
are a scholarship athlete. For some of
us, that may take quite a bit of imagining, but just go with me here. Imagine that you are a scholarship athlete
and that you just put in a less than stellar practice. The coach calls you over and says, “That’s
not going to cut it. You have more
talent than anyone else on the team, and you need to start acting like it. We have some tough opponents coming up this
season. You have to become the athlete I
know you are.”
What would you
do? Any serious athlete would get back
in the gym, dig deeper, and give the coach what was being asked of him. You would not get angry at the coach. You would not think he was being mean or
unfair or just trying to come down on you.
You would know that this is what a coach does, and since this is the
sport you chose, you would want to get better.
Do you see where
this is going? Too many people think
verses like the one for today are just about God wagging His finger like a
stern, old grandfather. God is not your
grandfather. He is not a cosmic killjoy. He is the one Who knows the real you, what
you were made for and what you can be.
When you chose to follow Jesus, God rejoiced. And now He wants to get the best out of you.
Father, I want to be a better follower of Jesus. Help me develop into the Christian You know I can be. Where there is sin in my life, help me to be fierce in rooting it out. Where I can be more loving, help me to develop the gifts You have given me to share the love of Jesus. This day I choose to begin getting better in following You. In the name of Jesus, Who is the model of what it looks like to follow You truly and fully, amen.
Copyright © 2016 by Steven R. Perkins
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