“Take your pulse for 15 seconds,” the treadmill screen spelled out. The five-minute fitness test was finally over.
Jim felt great about what he had accomplished. He was doing better each week and was scoring higher than his coworkers.
Physical fitness is something we work at or accomplish by our efforts — like being able to finish the 5K run.
What about our spiritual fitness? What kind of shape will we be in when we stand before God and he sees our hearts and lives? Can we exercise ourselves into good spiritual shape by what we think or say or do?
Being better than our neighbor won’t get us into heaven. With God we can’t be merely pretty healthy. We need to be perfectly healthy.
The Bible demands, “Be perfect . . . as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). But how?
Jesus once told a story of two men who went to the temple to pray. One boasted that he was a good “spiritual” person. He listed many deeds which he thought put him in good shape with God.
The second man humbly admitted that his life was a mess according to God’s standards. He relied on God’s mercy and asked him to cancel his record of sins. This man was the one who passed the test of spiritual fitness. (Confer Luke 18:9-14).
Spiritual fitness isn’t something we accomplish by our efforts, no matter how hard we try. It’s a gift from God.
When we trust in Jesus, God counts none of our sins against us. “The blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
God’s guide to spiritual fitness is spelled out clearly in the Bible, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5).
Join us each Sunday to learn more about God’s spiritual fitness plan!
Pastor R.
