The Pursuit of Excellence

I confess that I’ve not seen any of the 2010 Olympic contests, but then I seldom do any year. I am sure that if I had watched any of the activities it would have been the figure skating. I never cease to be amazed at the perfection and grace with which figure skaters do their thing out there. Even seeing it, it’s hard for me to believe. On the news, I saw a clip of the performance of South Korea’s Kim Yu-Na, who took the gold to her country. She was absolutely flawless.

I often wonder how much practice it takes for figure skaters to master a simple maneuver. A technique that takes only seconds to perform can require years to perfect. “Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things,” the Bible says (1 Corinthians 9:25a). The word temperate means to be self-controlled. Sometimes frustration precedes success, but those who keep at it will realize their goal. All great athletes know this to be so. Also, greatness is not happenstance. Athletes become great because they commit themselves to becoming great.

When I observe athletes like Kim Yu-Na, I get jealous for the Lord. You see, I am the kind of person who doesn’t like anything half done for the Lord. I believe we should always serve God in the spirit of excellence. He deserves nothing less than our very best. So when church leaders commit something into our hands to do in the ministry, we should put the time in to master the task. But too often, I have observed Sunday school teachers unprepared, ushers showing up late, and the choir obviously not ready to minister in song, to name a few examples.

I have found that the spirit of excellence in ministry is contagious. I know a couple of local pastors who started churches some years ago, and they were sticklers for excellence in every facet of their ministry. These leaders led by example. They would not tolerate sloppy work for the Lord. The congregation caught this spirit. When you attend one of their worship services, the difference is notable. Their length of service is average, the things they do in their service are typical, but their attention to detail, and organization, and quality control is not.

Perhaps you are asking the question, what’s the big deal. Well, it is this: As for the world’s pursuit of excellence, “they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible” (v. 25b). As superb as Kim Yu-Na’s performance was, though she won the gold medal, her reward is only temporal. This is also true of those who give their heart and soul to run Fortune 500 companies, and to obtain superstardom in Hollywood, etc. But when we serve the Lord, we reap eternal rewards. So if there are those in this life who strive for perfection in pursuit of earthly and temporal crowns, how much more zealous should we be for the Lord as we consider the incorruptible crown that He has laid up for us?

Copyright © 2010 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

The Wonder of God Working In Us

I continue to be amazed at the work of God in the hearts of His people. I remember when I was a member of our congregation’s youth department, 30 years ago. It was during a youth program one Sunday that I got my first experience with standing before a congregation and sharing a message from the Bible. As the service progressed toward the moment I was to stand and speak, I struggled to still my nerves. The anticipation was killing me. To my amazement, however, when I stood to speak, the words just flowed out of me. I had peace beyond belief.

So here I am 30 years later. As a preacher and church worker, I am as passionate about the Lord as I have ever been. My passion for Him has not waned; rather, with time it has increased. One thing I know about this mystery is that this zeal comes not from me, but it is the effect of the work of God on the inside of me. For me, the verse that drives this point home is Philippians 2:13. It says, “It is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” In other words, when we become born again, the work of God in our heart is twofold. He works in us to desire and to actually perform His will for us!

During the Haiti disaster, a number of couples here in the United States were in the process of adopting Haitian children, but they had not been united as yet. Understandably, they were concerned about the safety of their soon to be adopted children because of the killer earthquake. On at least two occasions, I was looking at the news when such couples waited to be united with their adopted children as they deplaned. In both cases I saw, the adopting couple was white. They wept as they embraced their new family members as if the children were their biological offspring. As I beheld their compassion for these poor Haitian boys and girls, I thought about Philippians 2:13.

During the past six months, several missionaries came and preached to our congregation. They were so passionate about what they did for the Lord on foreign soil. I am a preacher, but foreign missionary work is not my passion. But then, my wife and I have been married for over 31 years, and she is still mystified by my passion as a preacher, and my drive to help others in their walk with the Lord. It is the work of God on the inside of us that gives us the passion and compassion to do the things we do for the cause of the gospel. This can be baffling to others as to why our area of interest is what it is. More importantly, because we are running on this divine fuel, we will not wear out, fizzle, or lose our passion along the way.

We can’t all do the same thing for Christ. We can’t all have the same ministry gifts in a local church. If we did, we would not be a body, because a body must have a multitude of unique members, each with its own function. That’s why God orchestrates all things, working in each of us the will and the wherewithal to do His good pleasure, according to His manifold wisdom and His purpose for each of us. Hence, when we come together, each of us is uniquely wired, making the body of Christ fully functional. Praise God for the wonder of His work in each of us.

Copyright © 2010 by Frank King. All rights reserved.

Valentine's Day: What's Love Got To Do With It?

I am writing this blog post a couple of days before Valentine’s Day. I just ordered my wife some flowers on yesterday. I always wrestle with doing that because she thinks they are a waste of money. But I guess I buy them because that’s the Valentine’s Day thing to do. I am sure we will go out to dinner somewhere on Valentine’s Day as well. Isn’t that what all couples do on that day? Well maybe not, but it sure does seem that way based on the crowds and the waiting time that exist at every restaurant. I guess my take from this yearly display of romance should be that love is very much in vogue.

Well, I am not quite ready to do that. First of all, what is love? To be sure, it can’t be occasioned by a holiday. It’s much deeper than superficial expressions, however impressed the mate may be thereby. Love is more than sex.

The fact is that true love is rather complicated to define. The Bible says “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Okay, you got it? I certainly didn’t. To me, that verse affirms my assertion that true love is hard to define, when you consider that God’s ways are past finding out (Romans 11:33). When we talk about true love, as intended by God, we have to refer to 1 Corinthians 13. This chapter describes many of the qualities of love more than it defines what it is. So allow me to take an excerpt from this great chapter to make my point about true love: “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres” (1 Corinthians 13:7, NIV). Note the resounding word “always.” I submit to you that when you see this verse modeled in a couple, you are looking at true love.

This kind of love cannot be bought by any amount of money. It is not commanded by physical beauty. Rather, it comes from God. Because He is love, when we become born of His Spirit, we take on His character. A person may not be able to put into words this true love that fills his soul when he comes to Christ, but those who know him will see that love in action. They will know a miraculous change has happened.

So what’s my point here, regarding Valentine’s Day? Well, because I am a Christian, when I ask the question what’s love got to do with it, I am thinking in terms of true love, as distinguished from the world’s concept of love. And to answer that question, I would have to follow couples home, and see if the love they show in public is one that “always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Only God can give us the capacity to love like that, and based on our current divorce rate and the “crimes of passion” making the news, this world needs a whole lot more of that true love.

Copyright ©2010 by Frank King.  All rights reserved.

We Are Divinely Protected

I just wonder how many times have I received God's divine protection to deliver me from danger or death, and I didn’t even know it. How many times have I, as some say, robbed death? Only God in heaven knows. I thought on that question this week while I was attending a meeting at Ft. Hood, Texas. As we were leaving lunch one day, we passed the Soldier Readiness Center, where the shocking massacre had recently occurred. Perhaps you remember; it was Thursday, November 5, 2009. A gunman, identified as Army psychiatrist, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, opened fire at the Center, killing 12 persons and wounding another 31.

As we passed that building this week, the driver pointed it out and said, “That’s the building where the shooting occurred.” Coincidentally, the meeting I attended this week was initially scheduled to take place at Ft. Hood the very week of the shooting. But I had suggested that we postpone the meeting because too many unknowns about the project existed, which is what we did.

Because of where the massacre occurred, I am certain that if the meeting had taken place in November as originally scheduled, I would not have been harmed. But I couldn’t help but think about how many close calls we have in life. The truth is, no matter how much care we take to be safe, we can never do enough to make our lives danger-free. We don’t have to go looking for danger; it will come looking for us. For instance, what can we do about a killer earthquake in the middle of the night while we sleep? Or a major house fire started by the electrical wiring? Or a suicide bomber walking inside our local grocery store and detonating an explosive device? Or a stray bullet coming through our window? etc.

I am sure you can add to the list of possibilities. But we should not spend our lives thinking about the many ways harm can come our way, or that the devil can take us out. Such preoccupation will keep us in bondage to fear. That’s no kind of life to live. Rather, we must walk by faith that we have divine protection. God has promised that if we abide in Him, He will protect us: “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling. For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways” (Psalm 91:10-11). Because God has so charged His angels to keep us, we can boldly live in peace in this troubled world—if we believe this promise from God.

If the message you have gotten from reading what I have said heretofore is that because we are Christians and God has charged His angels to keep us, we can live life carelessly, and He will make it all come out right, you have gotten the wrong message. We should always walk in wisdom and obedience, and be vigilant. The Bible commands us to do so. But my point is that doing these things is not nearly enough to keep us safe. We must not trust in our works or our safety precautions, but in our God to protect us each day. He is more than able to do that.

Copyright ©2010 by Frank King.  All rights reserved.