By Suzanne Anderson, FCA Print Resources Manager
Following someone else’s example is a tried-and-true proven method for improvement. Young athletes imitate their favorite elite players on the playground and in competition, flashing a Euro step or fade away that they saw the night before. But eventually, there comes a point when watching highlight reels and trying to duplicate the move just doesn’t cut it. A real coach and practice are needed to institute lasting growth.
If we are going to truly grow and remain in Jesus Christ, as He commanded, then we need the same thing: a real coach and real practice.
“The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.” - 1 John 2:6
Did you catch it? “Just as he walked.” We don’t have to go searching for someone to show us how to remain in Jesus. Jesus is our coach. We walk as He walked.
So, how did He walk?
He walked with God the Father.
“I know that his command is eternal life. So the things that I speak, I speak just as the Father has told me.” – John 12:50
Jesus spent time alone with God. Four separate times in the Gospel of Luke, it describes Jesus going off alone to pray (Luke 4:42, Luke 5:16, Luke 6:12, Luke 9:18). Doing the same thing in our lives doesn’t have to look fancy. We don’t need a special mountain. We just need to take time to spend with God, to set aside time and then protect it.
As coaches and athletes, we wouldn’t skip practice. The result of that would mean we wouldn’t improve, and we would have no idea what the game plan was. The same commitment applies to our time with God. We cannot know God or what He wants if we do not spend time with Him.
-FCA-