Part Two

Last time we were together, I made a statement in closing, “If you want to know what you believe, look at where you are headed”.  I posted that same thought on Facebook and twitter. I even got a retweet. It was from my daughter so I am not sure it counts. Anyhow, I was curious whether or not anyone would comment on it. In the end, a lot of people “liked” it, but no one really commented. It’s a deep thought. I hope you didn’t just glance over it and keep going. Let’s break it down, shall we?

What we believe drives the direction of our feet. You will go toward what you believe will bring you happiness and peace. If you believe soccer will do it you will head toward soccer, if you believe more money will do it, you will head toward acquiring more money. If you believe a better body will do it, you will head toward a better body. Whatever you think will “do it” is what you will head toward.

In a sermon I once heard the preacher say, “If you want to know what you are really trusting in look at where you spend your time and your money. Look at your calendar and your checkbook.” That one stuck. It’s true. We will spend money and time on what we believe will make us happy.

I am a CrossFit coach as well as a pastor. I would say CrossFit is a hobby. Even though I own a gym, we do not profit from the business. I love to be with the people that join our gym, and having a place to work out. But my journey through CrossFit has not always been “healthy”.

I was overweight. Severely overweight most of my adult life. I started my fitness journey in 2006. I belonged to a group of guys that worked out together and we always had a blast. We ate decent and worked out hard. Then we found CrossFit. For those of you who do not know, CrossFit is an extreme work out program. To give you an idea, just this morning we ran 1 mile then did 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 air squats and then ran another mile. Yeah it was tough. It is not the average CrossFit work out, but you get the picture. Anyhow, it doesn’t take one long to start seeing changes in the body when working out like that. Muscles show up you didn’t know you had, you feel better, your clothes fit better, everything feels good. And there is nothing wrong with that. But I took it too far.

My friends and I discovered diets that were strict on what you should and should not eat so that our performance would get better. We found out if we did more than one work out in a day results would come faster. So we did. A lot. We only ate certain kinds of foods, we weighed and measured our food. We would schedule our entire day around when to be at the gym. One friend had shoulder surgery, I had elbow surgery, and it was ridiculous. Our lives revolved around CrossFit. But you know what? I saw results. But the results were never good enough. I always wanted more. (Remember that)

So why did I tell you all that? And what does that have to do with Jesus? A LOT! During this whole time of my CrossFit endeavor I was still following Jesus. I was still praying, reading my Bible studying for sermons etc… but the problem was Jesus was not Who I was chasing after with all my might. I believed CrossFit would make me happy. I knew I needed Jesus, but I believed CrossFit would make me happy. And I was willing to sacrifice for it.

At any point during this entire time if someone would have asked me if I believed Jesus was my only source of happiness I would have said yes. But if the same person would have looked at where I spent all my spare time, and my spare money, they would have seen different. You see what I mean? If I would have looked at where I was headed I would have seen what I really believed.

This comes in so slowly, so secretly you hardly notice it. I just looked up one day and thought, “Man this isn’t where I am supposed to be.” However, even after coming to the realization that I was off track it took a long time to start back to where I belonged. I had to come to the reality of where I was before I could go to where I needed to be. (That’s our next post.)

 Jesus understood this dynamic. Jesus understood that what you believe drives the direction of your life. Check out this passage from Mark:

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” Passing along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him. And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in the boat mending nets. And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him. (Mark 1:14-20)

            Jesus understood what someone believed controlled the direction of their life. Look at what he says, “Repent and believe in the gospel”. Repent means to change the direction you are headed, and Jesus says you do that by believing in the Gospel. Then Mark gives us a clear illustration; Peter and the fellas leave everything they know because they have met Jesus.

            I always assumed that this is the first time Peter, James and John met Jesus. I had some ethereal Jesus in mind, kind of floating down the beach and the guys were like zombies following him in a trance. But I think it’s different.  I think these guys have heard Jesus speak, maybe they saw him baptized and heard the voice from heaven. Maybe they saw him perform miracles. I don’t know what they experienced, but whatever it was changed their lives enough to redirect them in a radical way.

            I want to leave this part with three questions, first where are you headed?  Look at where you spend your time and money that will tell you. And don’t answer with the church answer. You’re doing no one any good lying about it. Be honest with yourself. Where are you headed? And the second question, how is that working for you? Are you finding peace? Are you finding joy? Or do you feel like a hamster on a wheel? And the final question is, do you want to change it? If you do, meet me back here later this week, and we will begin with exactly where you are.