HopeFul Reflections

The Bible verse I want to focus on today is, my favorite verse, Mathew 5:16 which says:

“Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your father which is in Heaven.”

The reason I love this verse is because there are often times when I feel lost in life and need some sort of redirection. I have a thousand interests, a thousand distractions, and a thousand responsibilities. Fortunately, when I can remember my mission or the reason I keep moving forward, it invigorates me and brings me clarity. I’ve always found my clarity in prayer and in sitting with God. It’s not an intense discussion, it’s more akin to a child sitting with their parents. I ask simple questions such as “what should I do?”, “what can I do to help?”, and “where am I needed?”. It’s scary to navigate a world with a million options, but prayer makes things a lot simpler.

As Christians we feel lucky to have a relationship with God and wish to spread his word and message to others out of love. Unfortunately, I’ve seen many people who have handled the responsibility of spreading the good news with hostility, aggression, and condescension. Even as a Christian myself, conversations with these folks were never pleasant. I always preferred living a Christian lifestyle and speaking about my faith when possible.

As a huge bodybuilding fan, of course I had learned about 8x Mr. Olympia Lee Haney. He was the first to obtain this many consecutive victories and is currently tied with Ronnie Coleman, another man of faith. While his physique was incredibly impressive, even more impressive to me was how he carried his faith throughout his career. I watched an interview with him many years after he retired from competition and he spoke about how he prayed before his first competition as a youth, asking for a sign, and always prayed right after earning his wins. As a bodybuilding champion, all eyes are on the champ as he accepts his first place trophy. The first thing he decided to do was pray and give thanks. I was amazed.

I realized I had found a role model for my own faith and my own style of spreading the good news. I’ll never be Mr. Olympia, I haven’t got what it takes and I like ice cream far too much, and my calves are nonexistent, but I can reach some level of success in my life and remain humble in knowing that all thanks is owed to the Lord above. In simply living a Christian life filled with prayer, humility, and love my fellow man can see that I live my life centered around something I consider to be the ultimate good. Naturally they will be curious, and of their own volition, ask me why I live the way I do. I’ve found this to be the friendliest way to have the discussion around faith and has made for peaceful exploration of the barriers to the questioner’s belief in God and understandably, what personal experiences they’ve had with the faith or the institutions that have made them feel isolated from God’s love.

I never expected to find an example in faith through my interest in bodybuilding, but I did and what a great example it was. I’m glad I was able to learn about a humble champion that showcased his faith through his works and showed others the victory that comes in trusting the Lord. I personally try to live as a Christian and make sure I carry Christian qualities in all my works, all of which I do for myself, and hopefully the unspoken actions rub off on my peers or causes them to inquire about my faith.

Have a great day y’all. Whatever your troubles, I’ll be praying for you. You got this!

-James