Supernatural Living In A Superficial World
“Yes, all the
things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the
high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I
once thought I had going for me is insignificant.” Philippians 3:8
C.S. Lewis, Chronicles
Of Narnia author, once
talked about our willingness to pursue second best, behind God’s best. He said, “We are half-hearted creatures, fooling
about the world’s ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant
child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine
what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.”
With the Super Bowl a few days away, Kurt Warner’s Championship season with the St. Louis Rams defeating
the Tennessee Titans comes to mind. The
former NFL and Super Bowl MVP’s unlikely rise to success came from serving as a
shelf stocker at the local Hy-Vee grocery store to becoming a Super Bowl
Champ.
With the score tied at 16 -16, the game came down to the
final two minutes where the Rams got the ball after the kickoff. The Rams had the game in their hands to win
or lose, with one of the most exciting Super Bowl finishes in history. Having studied the defensive backs coverage,
they knew that the D.B.’s would press coverage to the outside. Needless to say, they decided to throw a bomb
on the first play. Warner was hit by
Jevon Kearse (The Freak) while Isaac Bruce came back and caught the pass. They scored a touchdown. Their defense was able
to hold on with the last play on the one yard line.
In his book, “All
Things Possible,” Warner shared
about the post-game conversations. Mike Tirico, the sportscaster,
interviewed him. He said, “Kurt, first
things first- tell me about the final touchdown pass to Isaac.” Kurt responded,
“First things first, I’ve got to thank my Lord and Savior up above-thank you,
Jesus!” After the game, Warner was being
mobbed by everyone. He wanted to call
his kids. He has three children…11, 8, and
1 years old.
He called his 8-year old daughter Jesse who had been
watching the game. He said, “Jesse, what did you think of the game.” She
said, “Congratulations, Daddy, you won! (She had better things to do so she
passed the phone off to her eleven year old brother). Zachary came to the phone
(He took his time). He said, “Hi,
Daddy! I’m watching Veggie Tales!” Kurt
said, “Hey Zack Man.
Did you see the game?” He said, “Uh-huh.
Hey, Dad. I’m watching Veggie
Tales!” Kurt said, “Great. I love you.”He said, “I love you too. Gotta go watch the movie.” Kurt said, “I’m going to Disney World, and
he’s watching Veggie Tales. Now that’s a
commercial I’d like to see.”
Sometimes, God invites us to join in on something great
and we’re satisfied with our own interests.
Like Zachary, we are caught up on veggie-tales when we could be
preparing for Disney World. He calls us
to participate into something great and we sometimes settled for an water-down
version. Mud Pies, if you will.
John
Piper said, “If a relationship with God is the only
all-satisfying reality in the universe, then to try to find it without it being
in a relationship with God and an ignited delight in God, would be like
treating fever with cold packs when you have penicillin.”
It makes me realize how often I settle for a superficial version
when God calls me to supernatural living.
Not a bad things to remember during this Super Bowl Week.
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1)
Can
you articulate what God might be want to do in and through you?
2)
Think
of a time you did something your way and ended up empty
Consider reading the word
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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