[Day 168]
Mark 6.22-24
King Herod said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want and I’ll give it to you”. So he swore oaths to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom.” … “John the Baptist’s head!” she said
Another great day of cricket today. England playing at Lord’s and on the point of victory against Pakistan. It reminds me of a cricketer who played in the original Test Match against Australia in which the Ashes were born. I talk of CT Studd. His name is even engraved on the Ashes Urn itself.
CT Studd came from a wealthy family, was educated at Eton and Trinity College Cambridge. He had a huge future in front of him. But instead of choosing business or politics, he gave away his inheritance and worked until his death in China and Africa, telling people about God. Many undoubtedly saw his choices as foolish. ‘He had so much potential,’ you can hear them say. ‘Why waste his life?’
I’m sure that there were many who equally assumed that John the Baptist had wasted his life, rotting in prison and then dying ignominiously at the bequest of a girl.
What on earth motivates the likes of John the Baptist and CT Studd? I suspect it’s nothing on earth that motivates but rather the rewards of heaven. Studd once said, “I knew that cricket would not last, and honour would not last, and nothing in this world would last, but it was worthwhile living for the world to come.”
What motivates us? I’m sure most of us are too old to play cricket for England and the chance to have our names engraved on the Urn have long gone. But our names are written in the Book of Life for ever. And so with that assurance, we can speak and act and live every minute of every day in complete obedience to God. It might be that our choices are small ones – but it may be that our choices will lead us to sacrifice worldly success and even our lives for God’s Kingdom. What a call. What an honour.
What is God saying?
I believe that God is saying:
What’s most precious in your life? Are you willing to give it away for the sake of God’s kingdom?
