Train up

Posted by Jeffrey Smith June 30th, 2016 2,698 Views 0 Comments

1 Corinthians 11:1-Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

I always tell everyone who will listen to me. " If you want to know what you will look like in the future, look at your personal trainer." What I mean by that is if you want to look like a body builder, you wouldn't train with a marathon runner. A marathon runner keeps no extra muscle on their bodies because it will weigh them down. 

Likewise, if you want to lose body fat, and be fit, you are not going to choose a personal trainer who is overweight and has trouble climbing stairs. 

For years I looked for the "easy way out" with fitness. I knew that I wanted to look great, feel great, and weigh the right number. I couldn't reach all of those measures because I would try just about any fad that came along. I would hear something that sounded great, and think, wow, that would cut down the time it takes by half! My eyes were as big as saucers with the idea of it all. The bad news is that all of those things are temporary and once you hit a goal, well, you either have to set a new goal, or you will ultimately regress and lose ground on what was accomplished.

One day I had an epiphany of sorts and decided to repent or in the true meaning of the term, I changed my mind on how this would look in the future. I decided to hand over my training to the Lord. I decided to hand over my eating to the Lord. I waited on Him to lead me. It took about a year, but I am more fit now than I ever have been at any point in my life. My body has been transformed, and what is even better, is that it is through Jesus, I have a sustainable life that will not end. I do not have to increase or decrease activity or change wild diet swings. I just follow Him and it's not a matter of whether or not I will stay fit, it is a matter of just living and being. I don't have the crazy swings in eating or exercise that I once did. My motives have changed from a desire that was rooted in fear, to one that is rooted in understanding and listening. 

The same is the case for our spiritual lives. If you want to have a healthy spiritual life, well look at who you're listening to. Do you hear condemning messages? Do you hear more about the law than grace? Because we will ultimately look like who we follow. If my trainer says to do pushups, well I do pushups. If my trainer says to do leg lifts, well I do leg lifts. Over time my chest and legs will have an impact and look the way the trainer wants. The same is true here. What message is reaching our ears? 

If we want to look like Jesus, Paul tells us to follow his example. Let us imagine that Paul is our personal trainer. If we follow his example in the world, than we will start to take on the likeness of Christ. 

The hardest part that I see about being a Christian today is that everyone tells you to be Christ, but don't have the example to follow. They tell you to repent, they tell you to behave this way and that, and yet there is truly no example. That is false teaching. It is like hiring an obese personal trainer.

We all fall short in the Christ-like department, but when we follow the example of Paul, we will know that we are following the likeness of Jesus. Instead of following this or that, allow the Spirit of the Lord to lead you in all of your life. When we allow the Spirit to lead us, then we will ultimately look like Jesus. This is not an overnight occurrence (typically, unless you’re Paul) but it is a decision. This decision starts in your mind and flows to your heart. There, you will find consequences of your thoughts which will take action. The activation is the Spirit led life that is transformative and becomes natural and unforced. Follow the example of Paul and allow the Spirit to transform all of our lives into a super-model in the Spirit. We all are wired to live in the Spirit it is there in all of us, we just have to get in front of the right trainer.

Father, thank You for leading us with Your Spirit to look more and more like You. We thank You for transforming us today by Your Spirit and not by anything we could ever do on our own. In Jesus name, amen.