On the Shoulders of Giants
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ––Hebrews 12:2-3
We can’t look up at the Man on the cross and lose in our quest to throw spiritual caution and fear to the wind. In fact, the longer we look at Him up there, the more dangerous we become for the Kingdom. Imagine Jesus hanging on the cross. You are standing there. What emotions are you feeling?
We join the ranks of men who saw Him from a distance and risked, men who walked with Him up close, and men who through the centuries endangered their lives to demonstrate their love. In other words, you are not the first Christ-following man who has felt all the things you feel—lust, anger, fear, depression, hope, excitement, joy. That’s why I love to read the biographies of great Christian men who have gone before me.
A good friend of mine, KC, who works in Christian publishing, was able to work on a book with one of my heroes and his, John Wooden. KC and I are both UCLA alums and die-hard Bruin fans, and grew up watching Wooden’s UCLA basketball teams win national championships. Voted the Greatest Coach of the 21st Century by ESPN, “Coach,” or the Wizard of Westwood as many called him (a term, by the way, that he disliked), Wooden epitomized the attributes of a man who followed Christ and whose impact is still felt in all the men who played, coached, or studied under him.
KC told me that when you’d walk into Coach’s condominium in Encino, California, a bookshelf stood right before you in the foyer. On it were dozens of books about the life of Abraham Lincoln, one of Wooden’s heroes. Lincoln, a hero’s hero and one of the greatest Americans, was a big influence on Wooden when he formed his famous “Pyramid of Success.” In fact, This great teaching tool includes many of Lincoln’s attributes and character traits, as well as traits from the Word of God.
Like Coach, we study the good men who came before us, and ultimately, all those men—like us—look to our Master Model, Jesus Christ. If you are to bet at all, study the Man who risked it all.
Keep your eyes on Jesus who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed – that exhilarating finish in and with God – he could put up with anything along the way; the cross, shame, whatever. Now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside the Father. When we find ourselves flagging in our faith, go over the story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into our souls! Faith in this historical fact will bring us through.
Father, You have not held back on the gifts You have given me to do the things that will bless You, me and others. Thank You!