Day Thirty-Four

Day Thirty-Four // April 4 // Growing Faithfulness

“I meant what I said, and I said what I meant.” – Dr. Seuss –

If we are going to grow faithfulness, we need to be focused on what we are trying to accomplish. We need clarity of call and a single-minded definition of success. We can’t just drift through life with a casual sense of discipleship. Rather, we must be committed, sold-out followers of Jesus Christ!

Luciano Pavarotti tells the story of his childhood. When he was a boy, his father, a baker, introduced him to the wonders of song. He urged him to work hard to develop his voice. Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in his hometown of Modena, Italy, took him as a pupil. Pavarotti also enrolled in a teacher’s college. On graduating, he asked his father, “Shall I be a teacher or a singer?” “Luciano,” his father replied, “if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair.” Later in life, Pavarotti wrote: “I chose one. It took seven years of study and frustration before I made my first professional appearance. It took another seven to reach the Metropolitan Opera. And now I think

93 whether it’s laying bricks, writing a book, or whatever we choose, we should give ourselves to it. Commitment, that’s the key. Choose one chair.”

I pray our fondest hope and greatest loyalty is that of following Jesus. We do that through our commitment of prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness to the church, to the Christ, and to the Kingdom. We do that through our ability and willingness to use our vocations to shine the light of Jesus out into the world. We do it in the ways that we parent our children, love our spouses, and in the kinds of friends we are.

Jesus needs passionate, committed and authentic disciples. I remember being an idealistic 16-year-old with stars in his eyes wanting to change the world with Christ’s love. We would get so moved singing around a campfire:

“I have decided to follow Jesus; I have decided to follow Jesus; I have decided to follow Jesus; No turning back, no turning back. Though none go with me, still I will follow; Though none go with me, still I will follow; Though none go with me, still I will follow; No turning back, no turning back.” Yes, there have been times when I’ve felt the nagging temptation to turn back. But Jesus kept calling me on – onward towards a renewed passion. Such is my hope for us: to be single-minded and focused, to be faithful and faith-filled Christians Christ can count on.

WEEK SEVEN: Abandonment – The Rot of Love & Self-control –

“He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” – Mark 8:34 –

During these somber days of Holy Week, as the rot of evil waged on righteous blood, may the echoes of God’s love move and stir you; may they awaken you to the reality that Jesus endured all this for you... and may you find yourself forever changed by the love and victory that Calvary proclaims!