Americans don’t like to wait, we want what we want now, instantly. We don’t like to wait in lines, we don’t like to wait in traffic. We buy our foods frozen and pop it into the microwave, instant dinner. We used to have to wait for a certain TV show to be on the air, but now you can download it instantly on the internet. Email too slow for you, use instant messaging. Instant coffee, instant oatmeal, instant credit and the list goes on. Young couples want the affluence of their parents instantly and so they buy it on credit and eventually the bill comes due. Some things are better prepared from scratch, some things take time. When you insist on having everything instant, what happens when something just doesn’t come instantly?
Life is not a ten second 100 yard dash, life is an eighty year marathon. The elements that make for a good marathon runner also make for a winner in the race of life. God wants you to be a winner in the race of life, but not everyone will win. In fact, the Bible tells us that there are more losers than winners in the race of life. NIV Hebrews 12:1-2 Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus. You have a race marked out for your life by God. God wants you to finish that race to be a winner, just as Jesus was. However, just as a winning marathon runner is not produced instantly, so a winner in the race of life is not produced instantly. A winner in God’s race of life must grow to maturity.
Today I’m going to talk about “Investing In Growth For Life.” To be a winner, you must invest yourself in spiritual growth for life. You can invest yourself in a lot of different ways, but only by investing God’s way will you end up a winner. A lot of people invest themselves in the wrong things and end up being losers in the race of life. But when you invest in growth God’s way, you become more and more like the all-time champion, Jesus Christ. You learn from Him about the race of life, you practice His training habits, you have the same attitudes that He had. Make Jesus your hero, your model, your example and finish life a winner. Invest your life to become like Jesus and you’ll be a winner. So what should you invest your life in?
To hear more about this topic, listen to my August 20, 2006 message entitled Investing In Growth For Life
Very good reflection and I like it