You know those Peloton commercials? Those exercise bikes with the online coaches? They show these physically fit people sweating like crazy and somehow looking good while they work out?
Did you know those bikes don’t peddle themselves? Apparently, if you want a body like the ones in those commercials, you actually have to do the workouts – yourself? Is that crazy, or what?
Actually, no. Physical fitness is an activity. It’s not something that happens to you. It isn’t something you get by buying exercise equipment. It’s something you gain by doing.
You know those godly people? The ones who somehow manage to have a peace and a joy about them even when their world is falling apart? You know those people who find victory over temptation and defeat and do it consistently? They’re struggling like the rest of us, but somehow their lives are honoring God while they struggle?
Did you know those kinds of godly people don’t just happen? Apparently, if you want a godly life like that, you actually have to develop a relationship with God and obey His Word. Is that crazy, or what?
Actually, no. Sanctification is an activity. It’s not something that happens to you. It doesn’t matter how big your Bible is, or how many you have. It’s something you gain by doing.
When Solomon exhorted his son regarding the godly life, he used all kinds of action words:
Proverbs 3:1-4
(1) My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:
(2) For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.
(3) Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart:
(4) So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Solomon’s son was not going to find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man just because his daddy was king, and we’re not going to grow in grace just because we go to church or own a bunch of Bibles. Sanctification (Christian growth) is something that requires our active participation. It’s reading God’s Word and doing it. It’s doing God’s Word and seeking His face for the grace to do it. It’s a spiritual workout.
[Photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash]
Grace in Waves 