In a hyper-active world how do we live like Christ? Is Jesus wearing Nike trainers and sprinting around the globe desperately building His brand, fearful that some other pretender will take His market share?
I think not.
The pace of grace is not breakneck. The only neck spoken of in relation to the way of Jesus is the one on which He longs to place an easy yoke.
TRANSCRIPT
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In our hyperactive world. How are we to live like Christ? I don’t really picture Jesus where in Nike trainers sprinting around the globe, desperately building his brand, a fearful that some of the pretender will take his market share. I really don’t think that that’s happening. Now, when I look in the Scriptures, I Lee that the pace of Grace is not break neck speed, and that the only next spoken of in relation to the way of Jesus is the one that he wants to place on our ex.
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An easy yoke. Take my yoke upon you, he said, and learn from me, for I am Lee and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. I know certainly that I’ve so often fall into the trap of chasing after my ambitions, trying to become and trying to be someone or something that I think I don’t know what it is that keeps urging us and driving us to forget who we are and where we are and be present in the moment now.
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Vena Chuck ianism, if that’s such a thing, you know, may urge you to be everywhere all the time and become everything to everyone, all power to him and his disciples.
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But it’s really not for me, you know, Musk is that’s the latest thing may conquer the known universe, but I’m sure if I were to follow his way, I’d probably lose my own soul in the process. And I’m not saying that Gary Vaynerchuk or Elon Musk or whatever other names you want to drop here are wrong. They’re doing what they’re called to do and all power to them. It’s just knowing what’s wrong for you. Yeah, it’s knowing what’s right for you, what sits with you and what you can do and the pace you can live that gives you life.
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And in some ways I sometimes think that peaceful obscurity would be a much more life affirming option for someone of my my leaning, you know, and by that I don’t mean skulking in insecure shadows and never speaking up. It simply means focusing on what really matters, regardless of the noisy world outside my window or the screaming from the various screen Lee that I look at now, by nature, I’m an action taker and so passive resignation really, honestly is not a way of peace, you know, any more than rabid aspiration is it’s just that our actions must be tempered by truth and aligned with our values.
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Now, I spent a lot of my time encouraging Christians to stand up, stand out, and share their worth and message with the world. And I believe that that’s a worthy message to bring. You know, we as creative Christians are not consigned to the pews ad infinitum Till comes back.
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We all carry a message. We all have a calling. We all have something precious and worthy and valuable to bring to the world and God has seen fit to plant us in a generation where the means to do that are very much, quite literally, at our fingertips. The problem arises, I think when ambition steps in and begins to set the scoreboard, I’ve noticed like, it doesn’t really take a great deal of discernment to Lee this. But once we step into the online space, I really the watch words are more, bigger, faster, richer.
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And many of these metrics, I think, are very, very skilfully designed with cynical delight, aimed to enhance our sense of inadequacy. Because in a world in that world, more is never enough. Fast is too slow by far. And Rich really is a slippery scale. You never really reach the summit.
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But the truth is, the actual reality is that you are enough right now. Jesus didn’t die for you, for who you might become. One day he died and delighted to do so for the scruffy unfinished product that you already are. He wants to walk with you today, not just when you shape up, not just when everything is in place right now. You know, I think the devil always wants our eye on tomorrow.
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And tomorrow is always this tantalisingly out of reach. Tomorrow filled with all the things that we think we want a need. And then when we arrive and we hold those things in our hand, the goal posts inevitably move. I’ve seen it a thousand times in my life and decided it’s really time to sack my ambitions and follow the call of Christ more closely. I think my ambition will be to walk in his way of unhurried peace.
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And I really do wonder. And I wonder with kind of hopeful expectation where that path will lead me. Well, thanks for listening. Hopefully, it’s been an encouragement to you today. If you want to connect any further, you can do so through my website at Davidleemartin.com. Have a great day.
