Today's Journey
Who’s in the Spotlight?
Jul 31,2014
http://getmorestrength.org
“Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
If you’ve been around the world of golf for long, you know
that winning the coveted “Green Jacket” at the Masters is arguably the
most coveted accomplishment in golf. As I was watching the final round
of the Masters Golf Tournament in 2007, I was thrilled to hear the
winner give credit to Jesus for the gifts and abilities the Lord had
given him. With much of the world watching, he turned the spotlight from
himself to Jesus!
It brought to mind the year that Bernhard Langer won the Masters. In
the Butler Cabin afterward, before millions watching on TV the
interviewer said to him, “Winning the Masters must be the greatest
moment in your life.” To which the champion replied, “This is no doubt
the greatest moment in my golf career, but it doesn’t compare to the
fact that 2,000 years ago today my Lord and Savior rose from the dead to
give me eternal life!”
I was off my couch, ecstatic that Jesus and what He has done for us was getting such global recognition!
This is exactly what it means to glorify God and to live with enough
biblical sanity to know that all we have and all we are is directly
attributable to God’s grace and provision in our lives. Think about it.
Where would you be today if God had not given you the mental horsepower
to figure stuff out, the opportunities for education and promotion, the
talents to do things well, the spiritual gifts to participate
successfully in His work, the income to keep food on the table, or the
wisdom of His Word to help you know how to live? The list is long when
it comes to what God has graciously given you. To say nothing of the
gift of salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection! The fact is
that you and I would be nothing if it weren’t for God’s generous and
undeserved supply.
So, since all we have is from God, it’s important that we don’t act
like we are self-made people. In fact, when King Nebuchadnezzar took
God’s glory for himself, he was banished to eating grass in the field
like an animal until he got the picture straight about who should get
the glory for his power and position (Daniel 4:29-34). And Herod was eaten by worms and died for letting the people call him god (Acts 12:21-23). God takes it seriously when we rob Him of His glory!
Granted, it’s not always easy to know just what to say when you want
to transfer the applause from yourself to God. But just knowing that
it’s important to give credit where credit is due is a good beginning.
Every once in a while, someone will tell me what a great sermon I
preached, and in that moment I am keenly aware that what I do with the
spotlight is very important. I have to tell you, when I take the
compliment for myself I end up feeling small and disloyal. But when I
acknowledge that I had no idea what they needed to hear, I can say with
confidence, “We both know where the blessing came from!” and I love to
tell people that if they were blessed by the sermon it’s a sure sign of
how much God loves them. Every time I turn the spotlight where it
belongs, I end up feeling grateful to God and joyful that I was able to
give Him the glory.
So take the Bible’s advice: Keep the spotlight on Jesus—then know the joy of what it means to live for His glory.
YOUR JOURNEY…
- What things in your life tend to attract compliments from others? Could it be your knowledge, your ideas, your talents, your home, your car? Are you tempted to steal the glory for those things, or do you readily and regularly give credit to God?
- Are there things in your life that you wish would attract compliments from others? Ask the Lord to reveal those areas, and allow Him to reshape your self-seeking perspective with a biblical sense of gratitude for those blessings.
- Read about what happened to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:29-31. How did Nebuchadnezzar’s attitude change in verses 34-37? What can you learn from his example?
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