Christian has been going to the gym for 5 years now. He goes to the gym and sits around, watching others go through intense pain. He simply applauds them and sometimes criticizes them for doing too much in the gym. A few times he would lift one weight and put it in place, patting himself at the back. The gym instructor frequently comes before all the people in the gym and gives specific instructions as to how the routines should be done correctly. Christian would initially try the instruction and abandon the recommended way of doing sit-ups, push-ups, lifting weights soon after; intelligently substituting those with his own methods of doing the routines, much less painful alternatives. So he ends up being able to do many many counts of his customized routines; boasting to the ones who tediously stuck to the instructor’s way.
[image source : https://www.unilad.co.uk/news/theres-bad-news-for-people-who-use-free-weights-at-gym/]
Soon he would realize that many people come in and after a few weeks see results. Their biceps become heavier, their stomachs flatter, grips stronger and strength mightier; but that hasn’t been Christian’s story. He goes to the instructor complaining that he has been in the gym for 5 good years and still sees no results. He lists the number of routines he does every day; sit-ups, push-ups, lifting weights; tactfully failing to mention that he wasn’t doing them right. His instructor then tells him, “It is not about coming to the gym, or doing anything you want that looks like what I’m teaching. It is much more about knowing the details of my methods, trusting the methods, sharing in the pain I went through and persisting to the end. That is how the gym works”
The average Christian is in the church doing what he wants. The laid out methods of the Heavenly Instructor, Jesus, are unfamiliar to him or downright ignored; besides we are doing something similar to what He teaches, doesn’t that count for anything? Well, no it doesn’t. Nothing else works! Easy sit-ups don’t give you packs! Painless push-ups leave you the same.
Commit to the instructions given by Jesus.
Commit to Holiness because without holiness no man can see God. That does explain why most of us haven’t had a revelational knowledge of Jesus yet. Commit to giving, because receiving is guaranteed for only givers. Don’t obey occasionally because even your muscles will hurt if you visit the gym occasionally and expect to do stunts whenever you go. Steadily pace yourself, obey daily, read the word daily, fast frequently, love daily, pray consistently. . .die daily. .then you can look forward to results after some time.
Else you will be ‘busybody’ Christian in the gym. Applauding and criticizing . . . .yet never seeing results in your own life.
[source: myFacebookPage https://web.facebook.com/ambroseaffare]
