It happened again this morning. I got up, had my quiet time and then headed to the gym. Arriving at 5:30 this morning, I found the parking lot surprisingly more full than usual. I walked into the gym and saw 24 Hour Fitness filled with unfamiliar faces...lots of unfamiliar faces. Then it hit me - It's the beginning of the year and everyone has decided to get in shape. Fresh faces all over the place, huffing and puffing, getting their sweat on. Many of the regulars I see weren't there this morning because they take the first few weeks of the year off because of the large crowds at the beginning of the year. In the locker room, the conversations were about how great it was to be getting in shape and how they needed to buy a membership to motivate themselves to get in shape. For the past thirteen years I've been hearing these conversations. I see the newbies come in early in the morning and go strong and hard. Of course, I also know it will last about two weeks. It won't be long until those muscles are sore and sleep overcomes that early alarm clock. They will decide that 5:00 or 5:30 is too early in the morning to work out, so they will come later. A few will stick with it, but most will be gone within the month and life will get back to normal. It's always fun to try to guess which ones will actually stick it our for more than a few weeks. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate these people more than you know. They pay for one, two or three year memberships but will rarely use that membership. They keep my dues low because they are profit for the gym...People who pay for the gym but don't utilize the equipment or facilities.
This morning just kind of caught me off guard. I am usually prepared for the newbies, but they came early this year. It must mean the economy is in better shape. Jesus warned us about being like these newbies in our commitment to Him. He tells the parable of the soils in Matthew 13. The farmer scatters seeds and some fall on the hard ground and don't spring up. Those are the ones who hear about Christ and just have a hardened heart to the message. Oh, they think they have it all figured out. The see the hypocrites in the church and decide Jesus can't be real because of those hypocrites. Or they look at politically active Christians who speak out in favor of God's standard and they label those Christians as haters, intolerant and bigots. Or maybe the hard hearts are those who have been burned by the church of by Christian parents. They want to journey with Christ, but fear gets the best of them so they find a comfortable way to distance themselves from Jesus. There is another soil in which the seeds fall and that is the rocky soil. The rocks keep the soil warm, so the seeds sprout quickly, but die just as quickly because they have no roots. These are the ones who get emotionally excited about following Jesus, but they don't get into God's Word daily. They love the experience of church with the music, lights and relevant talks. But their faith is shallow and they drop out as quickly as they started. There is a third soil, which is the soil with thorns. The thorns grow up with the seed and chokes the plant out. These are the ones who want to follow Jesus, but are too connected with the world. They see all the "good" things their pagan friends have and the partying they do, so they just can't let go. They want to go bar hopping on Saturday night and then come to church on Sunday morning. They don't want to offend any of their pagan friends, so they keep their faith to themselves. Before long, they get sucked into the pagan world that they needed to leave. They meet a "good" guy instead of a Godly guy and move in with him rather than waiting for a Godly man who will have the integrity and treasure her enough to marry her. They get drawn into trying to make house payments, car payments and so they have to work overtime or work two jobs. The world has choked out the seed in their lives. Just like the newbies at the gym, they start out with good intentions, but the long haul is more than they bargained for. It's just too difficult to stay faithful to Christ. So they justify their compromise and jump back into a lifestyle in which they are more comfortable and has less resistance.
Then there is one final soil - The good soil. The seed falls here, grows and bears fruit. These are the newbies who stick with their desire to get in shape. They become part of the early morning crew and become a familiar face. These are the Christians who realize that following Jesus is a lifelong commitment. They are the spouses who decide to stay married no matter how difficult life becomes. They are the servants in the church who are committed to the long-term growth of others in the church. They are the workers who invest their energy into a project and make sure the project is done the right way. Those are the followers Jesus wants. He isn't looking to be popular with the crowd nor does He care about the bumper sticker or fish emblem on our car. He cars about a heart which is transformed by the Holy Spirit and hands & feet which are obedient to His leading. He is looking for those who will be His regardless of the pressure from a pagan culture. These are the ones who bear eternal fruit, who have made an impact on eternity. They rarely get praised or have the spotlight shine on them. They simply desire to the be the servants Jesus wants them to be. No applause from man is needed, just a "Well done good and faithful servant" from our Heavenly Master will suffice.
In Ecclesiastes 9:11, Solomon makes this observation: "The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, not does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned: but time and change happen to them all." This is written by Solomon at the end of his life as he turned away from God and was lost in a funk of compromise and sin. His point is that we all will face difficulties and nothing can keep pain from our lives. On that point, I would agree with Solomon. I would also agree that the race is not to the swift, but often to the one who keeps running. A steady pace is more important that sprinting quickly and then stopping.
My prayer for you in 2014 is that you will decide to personalize your faith. You will decide to keep doing that which honors God, even if you are the only one in your home, neighborhood, school or office which is making that decision. My prayer is that you will bear fruit. Don't be profit for the world, but bring a profit to eternity. Allow God to utilize you thoroughly as your life reflects your commitment to Jesus!
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