Devotional
About six years ago, the idea of owning and riding a motorbike became incredibly attractive. The thought of enjoying fun weekend rides with a group of young guys from the church I pastored, who had a passion for motorbike riding, seemed like something I’d love. The only problem was that I’d never owned or ridden a bike.
So, I decided to enrol in a riding course to get my motorbike licence. After attending lessons, I quickly realised that not everything about motorbike riding was fun. I didn’t like the protective gear I had to wear because it felt uncomfortable and hot, the posture of sitting on the bike felt unnatural and tiring, and even the fear of being hit by a car. These were some of the reasons that made me give up. To this day, I still don’t have a motorbike licence and can’t ride one because I wasn’t devoted to that cause. It’s never easy to persist in situations of difficulty and resistance. I can think of several times in my life when I haven’t persisted, especially when things were challenging.
We are a generation that values convenience and quick results. With a few clicks of your computer, you can have your grocery shopping delivered to your door, or if you’re hungry, there’s a microwave or a drive-through lane around the corner. As a matter of experience, our ability to persist is significantly reduced. But we know too well that, in most cases, anything worth having or experiencing doesn’t come easy.
In the Bible, Jesus taught the value of persistence and devotion. In Luke 18, He tells the parable of the widow whose only attribute to success was her persistence. Jesus uses the story to highlight that this lady had nothing going for her except her persistence. The concept of a widow was to underscore her deep and utter helplessness. As a woman without a husband in that culture, she didn’t have much clout to command attention from anyone, let alone a judge. The only reason she got what she needed was simply because of her persistence and devotion. That’s why the story begins with these words:
“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”
In 2016, Angela Duckworth, a researcher and psychologist, wrote a book called ‘Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance’. In it, she writes from her own story and personal experience of being ordinary and without any real talent, trying to fit into a family of high achievers, with a dad who was a scientist. Angela explores the idea that success isn’t solely determined by talent, but also by the combination of passion and perseverance, which Duckworth terms “grit.” The book argues that individuals who cultivate a deep interest in a particular pursuit and then commit themselves to long-term, focused effort are more likely to achieve success than those who rely solely on talent or intelligence.
I think as a church, we Seventh-day Adventists need some grit. With all the effort and hard work we’ve put into the mission, it can be discouraging when we don’t see results commensurate with our efforts, making it easy for us to give up and conclude that the mission doesn’t work anymore.
If you’re tempted to be discouraged, I urge you to draw inspiration from the New Testament church as portrayed in the book of Acts. They demonstrated grit in a powerful way.
In Acts 2:42, we read:
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
There are a couple of key ideas I want to highlight from this text.
The first is the word “Devoted”. This word in the original Greek language, proskartereó, has a rich meaning. It means “to continue to do something with intense effort, with the possible implication of despite difficulty – to devote oneself to, to keep on, to persist in”.
The second idea is that the early church was devoted in two aspects. First, their relationship with God, captured in their devotion to the teachings of Scripture. And second, their relationship with each other. It can be said they were devoted to both vertical and horizontal relationships. I believe these two go hand in hand.
As a Conference, in 2023 we have focused on devotion to God. Just like the early believers, that is key and foundational. Next year, in 2024, we are adding a second dimension similar to the early church, which is our horizontal relationships. We need both in our walk with God. As we learn to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, we are to love our neighbours as ourselves. And Jesus ends by saying, “There is no other commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31).
