Respond

Going to sports camps is a great way to gain experience and learn from great instructors. I grew up going to basketball camps, golf camps and football camps all throughout the summer. When each season came around, the ones who’d gone to camp tended to stand out from those who hadn’t.

I’m now a Huddle Leader for FCA Motocross Camp. I love how FCA brings in some of the top instructors in the United States to teach and train the campers. But even with these great instructors, it’s ultimately up to the campers regarding how much they learn and grow.

On several occasions I’ve watched an instructor give advice to a rider, and the rider—who thinks he doesn’t need instruction—still goes out the next lap and does what they’d done the previous several laps. As a Huddle Leader, I’ve wondered why some of these riders even pay to come to camp if they’re not going to listen to the professionals who are there to teach them. But that’s when I think about my own life and how many times I’ve done the same thing to God.

God has given us His Word, and it’s full of wisdom for this life and instructions that lead to eternity. Many times we read or hear God’s Word and recognize that what it says could apply to our own lives, but we struggle to respond to it. Maybe it doesn’t make complete sense to us, or we feel that life is good enough the way it is. Maybe what we read conflicts something we’ve heard in the past from another source. There are any number of reasons why we don’t respond. But just as the rider who refuses to heed the advice of his instructor won’t reach his potential on the bike, we will never grow in our faith if we fail to respond to God’s Word.

Being a follower of Christ involves both hearing and doing. It does us no good to receive His instruction and do nothing about what we read. If we really want to grow in Christ and be His followers we have to die to ourselves and our agendas and respond with obedience when Him when He calls.

Don’t be like the campers who come to learn but refuse to be taught. Check your heart and lay down your pride. Listen to the instructions from God’s Word and respond by doing what they say. It’s then and only then that you’ll reach your potential and become who you were made to be.