Intersect: THE HEAD THAT WEARS THE CROWN

INTERSECT (Where the Bible Meets Life) is a regular column of ONE Magazine featuring Dr. Garnett Reid, a member of the Bible faculty at Free Will Baptist Bible College. Email Garnett greid@fwbbc.edu

TWENTY-NINE FEET, 2 1/2 INCHES. That’s how far Bob Beamon jumped in the 1968 Olympics. “Never be broken,” said most who saw it. Sure enough, that world record stood—until Mike Powell came along and bested it by nearly two inches in 1991.

Another fellow named Jashobeam set what must have been a record at the time. About 3,000 years ago, he single-handedly killed some 800 enemies in one battle. In fact, his whole platoon of hard-bitten, seasoned fighters left a legacy of peerless gallantry on the field. Two defended a nation’s food supply against a vastly superior foe. Another killed a 7 ½ -foot tall Egyptian with that strongman’s own sword!

This elite group of 30 warriors led a host of “free agent” soldiers whose number swelled to become a great army—sort of like Lombardi’s Packers or Stonewall Jackson’s First Brigade. According to one account, their “faces were like lion’s faces, and they were as swift as gazelles upon the mountains.” You can read this and other descriptions of their exploits in 2 Samuel 23 and 1 Chronicles 11-12.

What drove this “band of brothers” to such devotion? What fuel ignited the flame in their spirit and energized the force of their blows? Although they came from across Israel, some even beyond its borders, these men had but one goal, one passion. They were “of a single mind to make David king” (1 Chronicles 12:33, 38). These were David’s mighty men.

The challenge of living for Christ today requires nothing short of deferring
to Jesus, moment-by-moment, choice
by choice, thought-by-thought.

Since David and his kingdom in the Old Testament often model Christ’s kingdom, their goal is a worthy one for all of Jesus’ followers. We should live for no other reason than to make Jesus king. As Paul put it, “To me to live is Christ.” Whether we call it discipleship, the Lordship of Christ, or total surrender, this zeal should be the simple equivalent of living the Christian life. All day, every day, I am called to put Jesus where He must be: ruling on the throne over me, calling all the shots in my life.

No matter our career, our field, our status in life, we can pour ourselves into making Jesus king by:

• renouncing all rivals to His authority;

• living out His truth by confronting, not conforming to, those in our culture;

• showing more enthusiasm for Him and His kingdom than we do for money, sports, entertainment, and material comfort.

The challenge of living for Christ today requires nothing short of deferring to Jesus, moment-by-moment, choice-by-choice, thought-by-thought. Anything less and the battle will be lost.