On the Anvil - Max Lucado [26]
And a sonar fish finder? Well, it almost seems irreverent. It’s like a do-it-yourself wedding or computerized dating. It’s like electronic pitchers (dads are supposed to do that, too!) or those false logs you put in a fireplace.
Fishing is one of those sacred times that must not be violated and cannot be duplicated.
What is your sacred time? Afternoon walks with your friend? Early morning coffee with your wife? Long drives with your son? An afternoon at the beach with your daughter?
Maybe I’m making too big a deal about the fish finder. Then again, maybe not. The point is this: People are priceless. We should never allow a gadget to interfere with the precious simplicity of waiting for the fish to bite. If my father and I had bought a sonar fish finder, we’d have caught more fish, but countless precious conversations would have never existed.
My dad. The greatest fisherman in the world? Probably not. The greatest father? You’d better believe it.
Think about the special times in your life. Are you making time for them? Are you making time for the people in your life?
Whom do you value highly? Do they know it? Is it evident in the time you spend together?
Are any shortcuts, like the fish finder, cutting short the real experiences of your life?
47: Triumphant . . . Forever!
Triumph is a precious thing. We honor the triumphant. The gallant soldier sitting astride his steed. The determined explorer, returning from his discovery. The winning athlete holding aloft the triumphant trophy of victory. Yes, we love triumph.
Triumph brings with it a swell of purpose and meaning. When I’m triumphant, I’m worthy. When I’m triumphant, I count. When I’m triumphant, I’m significant.
Triumph is fleeting, though. Hardly does one taste victory before it is gone. Achieved, yet now history. No one remains champion forever. Time for yet another conquest, another victory. Perhaps this is the absurdity of Paul’s claim: “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession” (2 Corinthians 2:14).
The triumph of Christ is not temporary. “Triumphant in Christ” is not an event or an occasion. It’s not fleeting. To be triumphant in Christ is a lifestyle . . . a state of being! To triumph in Christ is not something we do, it’s something we are.
Here is the big difference between victory in Christ and victory in the world: A victor in the world rejoices over something he did—swimming the English Channel, climbing Everest, making a million. But the believer rejoices over who he is—a child of God, a forgiven sinner, an heir of eternity. As the hymn goes, “Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of his Spirit, washed in his blood.”
Nothing can separate us from our triumph in Christ. Nothing! Our triumph is based not upon our feelings but upon God’s gift. Our triumph is based not upon our perfection but upon God’s forgiveness. How precious is this triumph! For even though we are pressed on every side, the victory is still ours. Nothing can alter the loyalty of God.
A friend of mine recently lost his father to death. The faith of his father had for years served as an inspiration for many. In the moments alone with the body of his father, my friend said this thought kept coming to his mind as he looked at his daddy’s face: You won. You won. You won! As Joan of Arc said when she was abandoned by those who should have stood by her, “It is better to be alone with God. His friendship will not fail me, nor his counsel, nor his love. In his strength I will dare and dare and dare until I die.”
“Triumphant in Christ.” It is not something we do. It’s something we are.
Where do you find your significance? In your triumphs, or in Christ’s?
What do you think it means to live in the triumphant lifestyle of Christ?
Do you know who you are in Christ? What implications does that have for the specific situations of your life: your relationships, your work, your leisure time, your daily reflections