Spotlight 12/2016: Assessing our own performance
Do not rush headlong into something, but define goals. Do not waste your strength, but use it wisely. In his reflections on our annual motto for 2016, District Apostle Michael Ehrich (Southern Germany) looks at some indispensable conditions.
To win a victory you first of all have to define a clear goal. Let us take an example from the field of sports. You will approach a 100-metre sprint differently than, say, a race over 5,000 metres. It is helpful if you know your own capabilities and performance. This is the objective of training. And training will also bring to light any weak points.
It is our goal to partake in the return of Jesus. To this end it is necessary that we take on more and more of His nature. We will still all need grace in the end, but the Lord will most certainly acknowledge the efforts we have made.
The word proclaimed in the divine services helps us to recognize our weak points. We receive strength in the services in order to remedy these effectively. The Lord also strengthens our will to win, in other words, our will to overcome everything that does not correspond to His mentality and nature.
We have to exercise our faith every day, and be consistent about it. That requires effort. There will be victories, but we will also experience defeats. But if we “continue steadfastly” (Acts 2: 42) we will ultimately succeed in reaching the goal as victors with Christ.