My brother-in-law Jason and I have a good-natured debate going on. He is a die-hard football fan. I am not. On Sunday afternoons he loves watching a good game of professional football; I enjoy watching the backs of my eyelids. He is determined to catch me in a moment of football fandom.
Enter the Canton C-Hawks and their championship football game. I am attending and will probably be cheering as loudly as any other adult, but the fact is, I'm still not really a football fan. I am a C-Hawk fan. Because I went to school in Canton, because I taught there, and because my kids attend school there, my loyalty lies with that school and those students. I want them to win—quite badly. So of course, Jason pointed out that I am perilously close to becoming a football fan.
With football, I don't think it matters if I am a fan of the game or of the team. Either way, I'm going to show up; I'm going to jump up and down.
It's not that way with faith. Showing up is just a small part.
Last year I read Kyle Idleman's Not a Fan and was humbled and convicted. He writes that
But if a person truly believes, he knows that after believing comes following, and the following part is usually more difficult. Following requires taking the time to study God's Word and pray.
In the story of Jesus visiting with Mary and Martha, Martha is scurrying around getting everything prepared while Mary sits and listens to Jesus. Martha gets irritated with Mary, who isn't helping enough, and seems to want Jesus to say something. Instead, Jesus says that Mary has chosen the better way. Martha may have been a great fan, but Mary perhaps was the better follower.
For the last year my goal has been to get through the entire Bible. I am almost there, and I am so excited about that I just sent one of my friends who has been encouraging me a picture of my progress, and then shortly thereafter sent him a picture of all the dirty dishes in my kitchen sink. But you know what? When I think of it, I'm kind of proud of these dirty dishes because that means I'm making progress, just not the same kind of progress as I'm used to.
All my life I've been focusing on becoming a better Martha, when all along I should have been trying to become more like Mary. For 2014 I am going to challenge myself to become more like her, to let the dishes rest in the sink while I spend more time paying attention to God and the people around me.
P.S. My first test of this came when Biruk came to discuss Christmas with me while I was writing this blog. Everyone else is more important than my to-do list, anyway.
Enter the Canton C-Hawks and their championship football game. I am attending and will probably be cheering as loudly as any other adult, but the fact is, I'm still not really a football fan. I am a C-Hawk fan. Because I went to school in Canton, because I taught there, and because my kids attend school there, my loyalty lies with that school and those students. I want them to win—quite badly. So of course, Jason pointed out that I am perilously close to becoming a football fan.With football, I don't think it matters if I am a fan of the game or of the team. Either way, I'm going to show up; I'm going to jump up and down.
It's not that way with faith. Showing up is just a small part.
Last year I read Kyle Idleman's Not a Fan and was humbled and convicted. He writes that
In teaching people what it means to be a Christian, we spend much of our time and effort bringing them to a point of belief without clearly calling them to follow. We have taken "believe" and we have written that in capital letters with bold print: BELIEVE. But everything that has to do with following has been put in small print: follow.I have attended church as long as I can remember. I completed my Lutheran catechism and was confirmed on-target at the end of eighth grade. I believed, and yes, when I believed in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and salvation for the world, I wholeheartedly know that I was saved and marked for the Kingdom of God.
But if a person truly believes, he knows that after believing comes following, and the following part is usually more difficult. Following requires taking the time to study God's Word and pray.
For the last year my goal has been to get through the entire Bible. I am almost there, and I am so excited about that I just sent one of my friends who has been encouraging me a picture of my progress, and then shortly thereafter sent him a picture of all the dirty dishes in my kitchen sink. But you know what? When I think of it, I'm kind of proud of these dirty dishes because that means I'm making progress, just not the same kind of progress as I'm used to.
All my life I've been focusing on becoming a better Martha, when all along I should have been trying to become more like Mary. For 2014 I am going to challenge myself to become more like her, to let the dishes rest in the sink while I spend more time paying attention to God and the people around me.
P.S. My first test of this came when Biruk came to discuss Christmas with me while I was writing this blog. Everyone else is more important than my to-do list, anyway.