Here’s something you will never read in an obituary: “Susan Abernathy is survived by Harold, her husband of 47 years, three children, and six grandchildren. Susan was treasurer of the West Kalloon Realtor’s Association, director of numerous Vacation Bible Schools, and finished the human race in 823rd place.”
We will be asked some crucial questions when we die. “Did you repent of your sin and put your faith in My Son?” “Have you forgiven others as you were forgiven?” But the one question we will never be asked is, “Where did you place?”
You couldn’t tell this by the way many of us live. We scurry around doing things we hope will make our lives count. We fret about our Amazon ranking, number of hits on our blog, the title on our business card, and how many second looks we draw as we walk down the street. We waste our lives striving to answer a question that will never be asked.
“Where did you place?” will not be asked by others, for they’re too focused on their own frantic race to worry about ours. And it won’t be asked by God, the only One who matters, because He knows we can’t begin to match the pace that has already been set by Jesus. Paul declares that “in Christ lives all the fullness of God” (Colossians 2:9). Jesus’ deity not only relativizes anything we might accomplish, but it also supplies the key to our success. When we place our trust in Jesus, everything He achieved becomes ours. We may be limping near the back of the pack, but God considers us to have broken the tape because of what His Son has done.
You may not feel like a success, but when you’re in Christ you’ll always finish first. Nothing you do will ever improve on that.
NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: 2 Kings 11:1-21
More:
Read Philippians 3:5-11 to learn how we can find our identity in Jesus rather than in ourselves.
Next:
What makes you feel important? Do you look to Jesus or some other source for your significance? How can you remember where your true identity lies?
Gene on April 26, 2013 at 6:54 am
Mike, thanks for the reminder that our true identity is in Chirst if we have trusted him as Lord and savior. “You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world…”
Colossians 2:20. This is true freedom.
mike wittmer on April 26, 2013 at 7:53 am
Thanks, Gene. I need to remind myself of this several times each day.
tom felten on April 26, 2013 at 8:32 am
Paul wrote, “We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment” (1 Corinthians 4:13). Yes, there will be times when we might be treated like the scum of the earth due to our faith. But, as you wrote Mike, in Christ we are not only winners, but sons and daughters within His kingdom!
Lamont on April 26, 2013 at 2:07 pm
Good timing. I try to stay immersed in these truths as I walk and work in the ultra-competitive, achievement-oriented community in whhc I live.
It is essential to stay in the Word and Christ-focused not be easily sidetracked. The alluring material values of this sin-sick world are not the absolutes I should trust and honor.
I am really just a pilgrim here. It is liberating to know this.
daisymarygoldr on April 26, 2013 at 9:15 pm
Good post and question, Mike Wittmer! Yesterday I was looking at the obituary of a saint that read: “I have finished my course”. In Christ there is no ranking or hierarchy. We all finish the same. If you say you’ll finish first, then you will be considered last!
So, it is not about being placed first or last but to be faithful to the finish line. Jesus Christ is our finish line and we need to keep our eyes fixed on Him. Our aim is not to finish first or last but to become like Him (Romans 8:29). And this is how God defines our true identity.
winn collier on April 26, 2013 at 11:29 pm
Lately, I’ve been thinking “Man, I’m tired of myself.” The energy it takes to keep up the ego is just too much…