Subscription Lists
Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
“Who won?” I wonder how many times this question is asked each day in our society. Hundreds, even thousands of sports contests are played each and every day and for each contest there are hundreds or thousands of fans. They are excited, some even into a near frenzy, by the drama of who will win. Add to that the hundreds and thousands of other contests (essays, gambling, bingo, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, ad infinitum) and one can begin to get a glimpse of just how obsessed we are with the question, “Who won?”
Funny thing is in all of these contests, there usually is a clear winner. The rules of the game make it such that there are almost no ties; most of the time if there is a tie, a playoff will determine the winner. These rules are somewhat arbitrary. Why is it that a ball that goes over a wall in one instance is good and a ball that goes into the woods is bad in another? Why is it OK to pass go and collect two hundred dollars some of the time, but all it takes to not collect the free money is the random selection of a particular card from a stack of face down cards. In all of these things, though skill may be a significant part of the contest, chance also figures into the equation and as often as not chance helps the winner and/or besets the loser?
Some of us see life that way; winners are determined by chance! What would Elvis have been had Colonel Parker not come by at just the right time? Where would Carrie Underwood be had she not been fortunate enough to hear about and audition for American Idol? Who would be wearing the super bowl ring had the pass not slipped off the quarterback's fingers on the last play of the game? This kind of scenario is played out literally thousands of times in each of our lives. A break one way or the other can totally make or break a person on the way up the ladder of success. Life's winners, if they are measured by the world's benchmarks of success , are winners to a large measure due to time and circumstances and not merely their own merits.
The meek; what do you think about them? Just what can they hope to gain? Well, I suppose if the laws of chance hold up, a meek person will have to be a winner every now and then. However, that scenario presupposes that the scoring method of the world will hold sway in all times and places. Jesus put it simply when He declared that such would not always be the case. There is another court in which the real winners are declared, and this court has all authority in all matters! Jesus plainly stated “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5.5). The meek in this verse are those who possess the kingdom characteristics in their lives, the characteristics that are enumerated in the Beatitudes. Actually, it makes no difference what we think about the meek, or the merciful, or the poor in spirit; their fate is not in our hands nor is it in the hands of any human being or group of human beings. The winner has already been predetermined and it is not a matter of chance. All one has to do to be the Grand Prize winner is hear and allow God to guide! Luck and chance have nothing to do with this contest!
Paul became an heir of the earth and so did those who obeyed the gospel which he preached. To the Corinthians, he wrote, “Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come — all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.” (1 Corinthians 3.21-23). This is just another way of saying that the believer wins, as long as he is faithful, in all cases, circumstances, and venues – period!
Questions:
1. Define meek? Does it mean weak? Was Jesus meek? Was Jesus weak?
2. Why does luck not come into play when we speak of eternal rewards?
3. In what way could Paul say that the world belonged to the believers in Corinth? Did they have a deed to the land? If not, just how was it theirs?
4. Who is the one great scorekeeper who writes against our name? How important is it to impress the masses in the quest to be a winner spiritually?
Receive the newest devotional each week in your inbox by joining the "Today's Little Lift" subscription list. Enter your email address below, click "Go!" and we will send you a confirmation email. Follow the instructions in the email to confirm your addition to this list.