READING: Genesis 6-8, Matthew 3-4:11
Think about the way many of us live our lives. We go to school to learn, and we hope to graduate . . . so we can go to college . . . so we can get good jobs. In many cases, we want to get good jobs so we can make more money so we can have more stuff. Some of us also – whether we admit it or not – are achievers who want to be known for what we accomplish.
This battle with pride is an ongoing one. It’s also not a new one.
The people who built the Tower of Babel sought to build a structure to the heavens, and they sought to build something else: their name and their reputation. Indeed, their words were, “Let us make a name for ourselves” (Gen. 11:4). Apparently, they saw little need for God and instead were living for themselves. I hope we would never say, “We don’t need God,” but I fear we sometimes live the same way when our focus is on self.
Being a disciple of Jesus, though, is not about self. It’s about following Him, doing whatever He demands, going wherever He says go, paying whatever cost our faith may cost us. It is, like the first disciples, immediately leaving all behind if that’s what God demands. It’s wanting Jesus to be glorified above everything else.
Which picture better describes your life today – living so you make a name for yourself, or living so only the name of Jesus is remembered?
Prayer: “Father, change my heart when I live for my name. Let Your name be honored through my life today.”
Tomorrow’s reading: Genesis 12-15, Matthew 5:13-37