"Christian First, Athlete Second"
May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Galatians 6:14
Can we, like the apostle Paul, be more proud of our God-given Christian faith than any of our accomplishments? A top professional football player once gave a beautiful testimony of his Christian faith: "I like to think of myself as a Christian, who just happens to be a football player." How easily we invert the order! We are known first by our profession, our job, or our achievements in this or that field, and, oh, yes, we happen to be Christians too.
The apostle Paul and the football player were proud of their Savior first and foremost. Their own achievements were only incidental. It was the cross of Christ, symbolizing His sacrificial death for their sins and assuring them of eternal life, that gave them cause for rejoicing. Not of themselves, but of Him did they boast.
This is a worthy goal for all of us -- to be known and seen first of all as followers of Christ, then as persons who were enabled to accomplish less important things as well. The cross of Christ is our proudest achievement, which we ourselves did not achieve! Salvation is a gift of God through Christ, who died for us on the cross. Of Him we boast.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, let the cross of Christ be so precious to us that we boast of nothing else; for Jesus' sake. Amen.
(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Job 20-21 Matthew 11
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