Friday, March 22, 2013

Mar 22 - DAY 38 - Becoming a World Class Christian

Day 38
Becoming a
World Class Christian

We fix our eyes not on what is seen,
but on what is unseen.
For what is seen is temporary,
but what is unseen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18

Rick Warren’s theme for today is “Becoming a World Class Christian.”

That title reminded me of a friend. He was giving an important talk. He wrote it months ahead. He came up with great illustration. To powerfully describe character and perseverance, he decided to use the example of a world class athlete.

Just days before the speech, he cut the illustration, however. Why?

He was going to talk about an inspirational athlete from 2012 Summer Olympics, who ran magnificently even though he was born without legs.

You probably know why he cut the illustration.

While Oscar Pistorius was a world class athlete, he turned out not to be such an inspirational person! A few days before the speech, the “blade runner” allegedly murdered his girlfriend in a fit of rage.

What does it really mean to be “world class”?

We live in a culture of hero worship. We seem to always have sports idols and music idols and teen magazine heart throbs. But world class is more than being “famous” or being the “best” at something.

In fact, being world class in God’s eyes is really the exact opposite of being famous. It’s being humble.

Rick Warren says, “[to become] world class … shift from self-centered thinking to other-centered thinking.” “Humbling yourself,” “taking the lowest seat,” “serving rather than wanting to be served” – Jesus’s principles – are the art of becoming “world class.”

Furthermore, what world class really means is caring for the world in a very passionate way. And we care for it best when we are sharing how to be saved from this broken world – how to know Christ and earn a “ticket” to heaven.

“World Class,” then, is really being “Heaven Class.”

In Christ’s Love,
a guy who doesn’t own
any pedestals
(it’s dangerous to put
oneself or anyone else
on them … because they fall)

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