Spiritual Gatorade

For a while now, Gatorade has been running a commercial pushing their "pre," "during," and "after" products for athletic events. If the commercials are true then these drinks give you the "boost" you need at whichever phase of the activity you are in. Selfishly, I wish there was a "boost" that would help me be able to dunk a basketball or at least elevate my bowling game from 140 to 160 (Wii bowling excluded). What about spiritually? Is there a "boost" for our daily battle with sin? Is there a boost for loving God with all of our heart and our neighbors as ourselves? Yes, there is. As always with God, all that He expects from us He also supplies to us.

If we are to love God passionately and our neighbors rightly then we must meditate on the cross constantly. C. J. Mahaney has written much on the cross-centered life, so I will not try to exhaust the topic in this blog, but I do want to encourage you today to meditate on Christ and the cross. As you do: meditate on Christ's sufferings, meditate on His silence, meditate on His sovereignty, meditate on His substitution, meditate on His sufficiency, and meditate on His sacrifice. At the cross, our selfishness and our agendas get crushed, but for our good and God's glory. At the cross statements like "I don't feel like it" or "I don't want to" get blown out of the water. At the cross, the questions "Is it safe?" and "Is it comfortable?" no longer dominate our thoughts. Yes God expects us to love Him with all of our heart, soul, and mind and to love our neighbor as ourself. As a matter of fact, Jesus said these were the two most important things in life. But what we sometimes forget is that for those that are in Christ, God has poured His love into our hearts through His Spirit (Rom. 5:5). So the very love that God requires of us He has already provided.

So where are you in these things? Have your affections for the Lord grown cold? Is sin reigning in your life? Would selfishness characterize more of your life than sacrifice? Find in Christ, His Spirit, and daily meditation on the cross, fuel for gospel centered obedience. Obedience that flows from a renewed heart that says "I want to" rather than "I'm supposed to." As Stott says, "The cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near enough for its sparks to fall on us." How close are you today friend?