I Want To Be Just Like Him

He was sporty, confident, good looking, popular… and he knew it!

Isaiah 47:1-15

Reference: v.10 You have trusted in your wickedness and have said, ‘No one sees me.’
Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you when you say to yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’ (TNIV Bible)

Explore: In high school there was a boy in my year level called Macca. He was sporty, confident, good looking, popular… and he knew it!

He would strut around the school yard without showing care to school regulations or other school students. He had his group of friends and his aim each day was to just have a good time.

The other students either feared him or stood in awe of him. He was a law unto himself and his confidence brought many good things his way.

As someone who stood at the exact opposite end of the confidence scale, I was jealous of how self-assured he was, but then had no desire to be the selfish person Macca had become.

I tried to be kind, diligent and understanding, and yet, more doors opened for Macca than they did for me.

Application: I don’t know where Macca is now. I can’t say how his life has turned out or whether his confidence followed him out of high school into the ‘real world’.

What I have discovered, however, is ‘not all that glitters is gold’. Macca looked like he had everything he could ever want or need at his fingertips, however, when I look to eternity and discerning true meaning to life, I think my faith has put me in a much stronger position.

Not every believer will have an awesome life, and not every non-believer will have a horrid one. While, as followers of Jesus, we know that we are blessed beyond measure, this does not always represent itself in worldly gain.

There are successful, prosperous people who have rejected God long ago. This does not mean that they have everything they need. Even God’s enemies in the Old Testament prospered and won battles.

When it all comes down to it, God is not focused upon our worldly progress, He cares what is in our hearts. While others may look like they are going forward in leaps and bounds, our success should only be measured by our eternal position.

Prayer: Lord, it’s so easy to compare ourselves to others and see that we are lacking. May we not be deterred by false confidence, but look to You for assurance. Amen.

How great is your success when measured by eternity?

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