As I look back on my life I’m struck by my attitude and passion for Bodybuilding and the Gospel. I see some similarities. However, I also see a lot of inconsistencies.
I first began weightlifting because my younger brother finally beat me in an arm wrestle. My bodyweight had dropped dramatically after weeks of running six miles every day. My strength suffered as a consequence of a significant loss of muscle mass. I was chronically over-trained.
The immediate remedy was to drop the running and do some pushups in my bedroom. That was followed up with buying some weights. My body responded very well. I became hooked. This training protocol quickly reached its limitations. The final logical solution was to join a gym.
A friend had invited me to visit the chrome-machine gym he’d joined. There were long waiting lines to use the meager equipment. I wasn’t impressed. So I did my research and decided to join a gym which was notorious for its knuckle-dragging Neanderthals.
My friend warned me that I’d be way out of my depth. Perhaps it was my parents’ influence – but I learned at an early age that mixing with people who are better than you in certain ways can be advantageous. You can learn from them. So I mingled with the Neanderthals anyway, and I thrived.
I learned as much as I could about training protocols and eating strategies. Gradually I became noticeably bigger and stronger within the limits of my natural genetics.
My passion for training overflowed into my conversations at work. This had a kick-on effect, especially when some people became surprised to learn I was a few years older than they were. My enthusiasm spread. Some of them even began training.
As I ponder all this, I wish I could say the same about my enthusiasm for spreading the gospel message. Are my unsaved friends captivated by my passion for the gospel? I’m afraid not.
In my case there is an outward enthusiasm-gap between Bodybuilding and the Gospel. I can arrive at a few carnal excuses for this discrepancy. Our culture worships outward beauty. We are vain by nature. We’ve been wired that way since the lie and fall in Eden. I guess it’s genetic.
The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Gen 3:4-5
It’s relatively easier to motivate a person by appealing to their vanity. You’re paddling along with the flow of the current, so to speak. Everyone wants to look great and feel better. And they usually want it as soon as possible. You’re selling to an attentive seller’s market.
In contrast, try talking to someone about eternity and hell. Try generating enthusiasm about that!
Most people will concede they’re out of condition in some way. The states of being overweight and/or sick are often visibly obvious. Sometimes they’ll even agree to do something about it, especially when your passion affects them. But most don’t like to think long-term, like eternity.
I’ve had a few frustrating conversations – often with the same individuals.
The popular position is to assume they’re essentially good and undeserving of hell, even if it exists. They can’t conceive of a Holy God who won’t ignore their small sins. They believe their good deeds outweigh the bad in the balance of things. If there’s a heaven, they think they deserve it.
Therefore unbelievers generally don’t see a need to acknowledge Christ, even when conceding that He may have existed. There is no sense of urgency to get saved.
But we are all like an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. Isaiah 64:6
Try telling someone that they’re not good enough for heaven, or that they’re desperately wicked. The gospel is offensive. Nevertheless, can I really use this as an excuse for my passion-deficit? How do I generate a fire for the gospel?
As elusive as this fire is (speaking for myself), it should be normal. Passion and joy for the gospel can be found in the sermons of Spurgeon, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, the Puritans, and many modern evangelists. They also have a love for the lost.
These people couldn’t successfully cultivate this attitude on their own. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. They were careful not to grieve the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
This was their gymnasium…
They had a heavenly mindset. This world was less real for them than heaven. See Paul Washer’s testimony (especially the end of the transcript). They had a strong sense of their own sins and a gratitude for God’s gracious provision in place of eternal punishment in hell. They were strong pray-ers and believed God’s Word. They walked the talk.
And they loved Christ above everything else!
I hope I can become a little more like them. Time is short. Shouldn’t verses like this motivate us to spread the message?
Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.
I’ll let Paul Washer have the last comforting word. From a recent tweet:
As we understand the depth of our sin and the abundance of God’s grace, our joy ceases to be based upon our performance and becomes founded upon the perfect work of Christ. We are weaned away from the idolatry of finding joy in ourselves and Christ becomes our joy’s only source!
Maranatha!
Further resources:
On Dead Bodybuilders and Immortality
The Battle Belongs to the Lord
Which Way to Heaven? – John MacArthur
Sharing is caring!
