God is Glorifed. With or Without my Active Participation

HHH-sunset-1001
HHH-sunset-1001

The marathon world record was broken in Berlin this year by Dennis Kimetto. In September, actually. He broke the record by a whopping 26 seconds - which is one second for every mile of the race. Plus he's 30 (pretty old when it comes to professional elite runners), and a former shepherd who happened to run into a different elite runner during his training run only four short years ago. He was not a runner before this.

There is a woman who is my age and weight who participated in a powerlifting competition last weekend who was able to squat 275#, bench press 165# and deadlift 358#. I'm not sure how many repetitions of each she lifted those weights, but lifting that weight just one time is very impressive.

Tuesday night, during the MLB playoff game, the Kansas City Royals third baseman, Mike Moustakas, made an outstanding catch in foul territory. He actually caught the ball in the stands and then tumbled over the railing head first into the seats. If you appreciate baseball, you should watch it because it's an amazing catch - you can here.

Last Sunday during the Packers versus Dolphins NFL game, the Packers were trailing by four points with six seconds left to play. Aaron Rodgers threw a pass from the Dolphins' 4-yard line to Andrew Quarless to win the game.

My body - MANY of your bodies - was able to sustain life. Within my womb a human grew. An actually person, from conception until delivery day, developed due to the fact that my body was able to nourish and protect, to establish and build life. And some of you had MULITPLE babies in there.

A baby's brain, from the time she is born until the time she is just one year old will have doubled in volume and reached approximately 60% of its adult size.

A woman who attends class with me has lost (and kept off) over 100 pounds.

The body is amazing. Simply amazing. I am fascinated by what is able to do. And I think one of the best things to watch is someone who is good at his sport. Someone who has fully developed his gift, who has worked hard to fine-tune his skill.

In the world in which we live, in the world in which I work, it is all too often that I see and hear people puffing themselves up, beaming from pride because of their accomplishment. Expecting accolades and acknowledgement and all of the praise.

There is a "me-mentality". Look at me. See me. Watch me. Try to beat me. Outlast me. Be awestruck by what I can do. Applaud me. Award me. Try to imitate me.

Anytime a human is honored for her capabilities and physical accomplishments, or excels at something, God is glorified. Whether that person is a part of the glorifying or not. Philippians 1:18 says

But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice.

It is very hard to look at someone's physical accomplishment without thinking about the source. When a person creates an amazing feat or does something that NO ONE else has ever done before, it's very hard not to think about their Creator. We are researchers. We like to figure out how someone was able to do what they did. Whether the person gives credit to God or not doesn't change the fact that God created it. It was a part of God's plan.

If we choose to actively participate in God's plan and to honor Him with our EVERYTHING, our accomplishments and our amazing physical capabilities will be that much more rewarding. When we live to honor God with our bodies, to work hard and train a specific skill set he has given us, He is glorified and we are edified.

That longing within to please and to succeed and to win is fulfilled in Jesus alone.

So whether you are running marathons, playing catch, throwing the football around, growing babies, raising babies, feeding babies, cleaning houses, washing windows, running meetings, teaching and preaching souls, caring for sick, reading to a child, praying with a grandma or singing in shower - your body is an amazing tool that demands your respect and delivers glory to God.

God does not need us to fulfill His will. His will will be accomplished.  Yet he allows us to be active participants and experience some pretty incredible things along the way. The question is, will you answer Him and do what is expected of you?

KellySignature
KellySignature
Chatter, Fitness, FaithKelly1 Comment