Spark2Flame

And that pretty much sums it up, “I think it would be great…” I do exercise, but not enough to cultivate that sort of thing; and I try to eat right (mostly) but I know there are certain foods that enhance or detract from developing the washboard look. No, I don’t follow the rules (and really am only vaguely aware they exist because I’ve never looked into it). I’m just not that committed so it remains a distant, nice thought.

People who really want that sort of thing really have to work and sacrifice for it. It may be easier for some with “good genes” but even then, they don’t just magically appear.

The same is true in our relationship with God. He is not the one holding out on me. He waits for me to come, while I decide whether it’s worth it or not. Seems sort of silly when I put it that way, but every day I make decisions to live in grace or indulge my selfishness.

We sacrifice for what we want. Sometimes that has very negative consequences as we can sacrifice our health, finances, relationships, etc. for what will make our lives “better.” Then we look at God and think, “I know You’d like me to read my Bible right now but I don’t want to—I don’t have enough me-time.”

A reality check may be in order—all time is “me-time.” Each of us decides what is important and what our priorities will be for a given day. I believe our goal is to keep turning more and more me-time into God-time so that He lives His life through us.

There are probably only a few things in life that we sacrifice greatly for and find out it’s worth it. I may not be able to answer definitively whether six-pack abs is one of those things, but I do know that seeking God with reckless abandon certainly is. The hardships, sacrifices, and difficulties we walk through lead us somewhere.

Many may not understand or see what you see, but our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Corinthians 4:17). It may not be easy or what we want to do, but once we engage we discover that the real sacrifice was already made and we are recipients of this great gift.

I hope you have experienced this as I have. We turn around, in that moment flooded with grace, and we realize that it wasn’t a sacrifice God was after but a surrender.