I can’t get out of my head the whole idea of constant improvement. Some may refer to it as being a lifelong learner. I have a friend whose next-door neighbor was at a point in his life where he had all the money he needed and decided to start doing jobs he thought would be interesting. He got a job at a fast food restaurant because he always thought he would be good with customers. He left that job and got a job at a big box home improvement store because he knew quite a bit and had a lot of experience doing home improvements.
This life that we live can entice us to reach a certain point with money, knowledge, and experiences, and we decide we have reached our pinnacle and are going to rest on our laurels for the rest of our days.
Hebrews 11 describes for us a slew of people who were justified by their faith. And when you read it, here are words you read about these heroes of the faith: offered, speaks, pleased, constructed, obeyed, looking, invoked, crossed, conquered, enforced, quenched, escaped, received, and so on. We read about Paul in the Book of Acts and several letters in the New Testament. He described his journeys as “fighting the good fight” and “finishing the race.”
In short, where are you on your journey to become more like Jesus? Are there things you still need to conquer? Are there offerings (no, not just money) you need to lay before God? Are there bridges you need to cross? Is there some construction that needs to be done in your faith?
I fight complacency a lot. My couch calls to me when I arrive home from work. We have a great deal of good programs going on at church. It would be easy to smile and be satisfied with what is taking place. However, we aren’t called to complacency when it comes to our faith and God’s church. We want to present to Him, at the end of our life, an offering of action. “This is what you called me to, and this is how I ran to meet the calling.” Let’s move forward in faith!