Do you have good intentions?

A few days ago the Amgen Tour of California came to our town of Paso Robles. For those of you who might not know what the Amgen Tour is, it’s a professional bicycle race that covers several days and several hundred miles. And, it is quickly gaining fame in the cycling world as many of the Tour de France riders participated again this year.

Since my doctor told me a couple of years ago to start riding a bicycle to keep from becoming a diabetic, I have gained some interest in these professional riders and their races. The longest stretch I have ridden at one time is 62 miles, so when I see these cyclists ride over a hundred miles for several days in a row I am astounded. And, they can ride as fast up a hill as I do on flat land, quite humbling.

As the riders swooped around the corner near our home on their way to the finish line in downtown Paso Robles, I could not help but think of their commitment and discipline. At some point in each of their lives they went from having good intentions (becoming a professional racer) to actually doing something about it. They had to activate their will to start their conditioning and training programs.

We can be filled with good intentions in our walk with Jesus, but at some point the will has to be activated in order for our intentions to count. In the Gospel of Luke we find Jesus informing several would be followers that intentions were not good enough, action had to take place. Jesus was clear from the beginning that it could cost one much to follow Him, and that one should not make a casual commitment. Jesus said in Luke 9:62, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.” These are strong words from our Master, and their implications are great.

Those who walked with Jesus and those who followed His ways in the early church understood that Jesus calls us to detachment. The disciples left everything to follow Jesus and that involved more than just good intentions, it involved their wills. They had homes and families but they were not bound by them, they understood that all was transient.

Polycarp, as we have seen in the past, was the Bishop of Smyrna in what is now Turkey. As a Bishop he laid his hands on other young men, calling them into ministry. There in Smyrna was a man by the name of Andeolus, and Polycarp ordained him a deacon. Polycarp then sent this respected deacon to what is now France as a missionary. There the work of Andeolus prospered as he shared the message of Christ with the people. History shows us that the wise Polycarp did well in sending forth several missionaries from Smyrna to other parts of the world.

The persecution of Christians is well documented during this time of late first century and early second century. Andeolus came to the attention of a Roman ruler riding through that area in about 208 AD. Septimius Severus was a ruler of that region, but at heart he was a soldier. He had been a general before becoming an emperor. He was the first emperor from Africa, from the area that is now Libya. Severus was anti-Christian and enforced the anti-conversion laws of their time. As Andeolus was a missionary, he came in direct conflict with Severus. This conflict culminated in Severus putting a sword through the head of Andeolus and throwing his body in the Rhone River.
At some point Andeolus had good intentions to be a deacon and a missionary, and those intentions had to make their way to his will. He knew that there was a very good chance that his life would end because of his desire to follow Christ, but he was detached from this world. I guess it could be said that he was so attached to Jesus Christ that detachment from this world became easier.

What good intentions are you holding on to that you have yet to act on? How many of those “one day” thoughts are swirling around in your mind that needs to find their way to your will? We often live in a world of good intention without the needed action that would validate those intentions. We think in our minds, one day I will stop charging things I don’t need, one day I will start giving to the Lord’s work, one day I will loose weight, one day I will make things right with my family, one day I will get more serious about my relationship with God, one day I will start a devotion and prayer time, one day I will serve the Lord with my whole heart, one day I will detach myself from this world.

The one day turns into weeks, which turns into months, which turns into years, and the thing that the Lord has placed on our hearts to do has never come about. The problem with many of our churches today is that we stress the intellect over the will. We go to Bible study after Bible study and we listen to sermon after sermon, but we lack the discipline to activate the will. If you read the Gospels and words of Jesus you find quickly that Jesus is looking for us to act, to move out. Belief without action is really not belief at all.

Even though I cannot ride like those professionals that came whizzing by our home, I do have something in common with them – our wills get us on the bikes and cause us to ride. My bike will not do me a bit of good as long as I just look at it; I have to ride it! God has placed something on your heart, now stop thinking about it and do it! And yes it will probably cost you something just as it has been costing our brothers and sisters for 2,000 years; just as it cost Andeolus.

Blessings to you,

Dan

Copyright 2009 Eternity Minded Ministries