I was asked a very simple question the other day that on the surface was quite common, appearing purely as a device to start a conversation:
'Who do you admire?'
I answered rather broadly, naming some of my favourite Christian heroes: Charles Spurgeon, Gladys Aylward, Paul Washer…
But the question that followed it up was flame to powder, setting off an explosion of transformation in the way I think. Read it slowly:
'What would you need to change in your life today to become more like that person?'
When I heard that, a light clicked on: these people that I admire were in a sense just like me. They weren't born with great powers, on a higher plane to us mere mortals; they were men and women who breathed the same air I now breath, had the same physical needs, the same desires. A different century perhaps, but still no more or less human than I am today.
The Bible declares that 'God has no favourites' (Romans 2 verse 11). The people that I admire weren't born great Christians; they made daily choices across the course of their lives to follow Christ, choices that I also can make.
They went through trials, they fought battles, and won, but not without getting scratched. And maybe that's why I haven't emulated them completely, because I see that they paid a price, a heavy cost, to live the lives that they did. They sacrificed their comforts and pleasures for the greatest cause of all, knowing and being known by God.
But one thing is clear; the only thing stopping me from being like them is myself. Am I willing to make the necessary changes in my life to become like the people I admire? Or am I happy with my status quo, my comfort zone, my little version of living a Christian life?
Am I just going to read the books about the great heroes of the faith, observing their lives from afar?
Or am I going to dive in and join their ranks, marching to the same beat of the heavenly drums they followed?
Seems two simple questions have sent me down a whole new path.
Thomas Devenish lives in Hobart, Tasmania. One of nine children, He works as a motion graphics editor and enjoys photography and the creative arts.
Thomas Devenish's previous articles may be viewed at www.pressserviceinternational.org/thomas-devenish.html