Wanda Bam

“Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.”  Ecclesiastes 2:11

“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.” Revelation 2:4

We have often been taught, in numerous ways, that the only way to a quality life is to achieve the highest level.  We set our mark on a standard, only to move the bar higher once we have achieved it.  Some refer to this as growth.  We avoid all stagnation, or so we think.  Our life is often a story of the race against being or achieving only average.  But, before we know it, we find ourselves on the highest rung of the ladder, only to look around and find ourselves alone, wondering how we actually arrived at this point. No one else has come along.  We were so focused on achieving this higher standard, it became our only objective.

The Scriptures refer to success as a race, but with a difference. It speaks in a similar context of a crowd of believers, it speaks of relationships, of family, children and the elderly, of widows and orphans, and even speaks of the needy and the rejected. The Scriptures teach us that there are those who make it and those who don’t, but that we are all partakers of the race of life, and that this race can be completed successfully by all. The Scriptures work with formulas, many of which we do not always understand. Formulas that illustrate that those who are first will be last and those who are last will be first, amongst others.  We cannot impress God, or get God to love us more, or to bribe God to the benefit of our own exclusive advantage. God sent His only begotten Son to die , on our behalf, so that we might win the race of life by achieving victory over death. God does not require greater achievements on our part, but merely obedience. This race requires consistent love, a love for one another and an even greater love for Him. A love that speaks the language of obedience. It is through the worldliness of this life that we lose this love for God.  This love begins with Him, and by Him alone. Balance is achieved through this love for Him, where rest and truth are found. Let us therefore make Him our first love once again.

Prayer:  Lord, help me to run the race of life with You, to take my family and friends on this journey of eternity, where we will celebrate the victory over death with Jesus Christ, forever. Amen.