Watch The Red Line
Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48
So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13
Insight
Until a year ago, I drove a 2001 Ford Focus, so I didn't pay much attention to the tachometer. That gauge was irrelevant. When I turned on the ignition, I just hoped it started. 50MPH was about as fast as it went, and that's when it was coasting downhill. Anything over that speed made the car grumpy. It would rattle and screech, letting me know not to push my luck. If I got anywhere close to the red line, there was a good chance the car might combust.
The tachometer on a worn-out Ford Focus might be irrelevant, but the gauges that exist in our heart, mind, and soul should be of utter importance. We all have a "Red Line." Unfortunately, our tachometers tend to run hot in the overheated category. Since we have nothing to govern us, we push our lives to the limit. We are driven but without any clear direction.
Perfection pulls us while fear pushes us. We are driven by our fears more than our pursuits. We've become rotten with perfection. We have this mindset: "If I can get this, or if I can achieve that, then my life will be perfect. I'll finally experience this FULL life." We are chasing perfection with destination thinking, and it is driving us insane. We push and push and push, hoping that we can slow down, enjoy, and be satisfied once we achieve what we are pursuing. But, perfection and satisfaction never come, with contentment out of reach.
When is enough….enough? Where is your Red Line? What is God calling you to do? These are questions that often remain unanswered. Why? Because we never stop long enough to ask the questions in the first place. Knowing ourselves requires us to understand our own Red Line.
Without knowing ourselves, we will drive in a million different directions at lightning speed.
Too many options paralyze us and breeds in us a sense of discontentment. With all the available options, we wonder if we didn't choose well. When anything is possible, everything is possible, so in the end, nothing is possible. We second-guess our decisions. We compare and compete with others, which inhibits integrity from taking root in our lives. Our RPM's rev, but our lives remain still, and we are unmoved.
It's hard to walk with God when we are running so fast after everything else.
We are chasing perfection as if it was a destination. But, when we look at how the Bible speaks of perfection, we get a completely different picture - it's more about satisfaction than excellence. Contentment breeds integrity. Perfection, from a Biblical perspective, means complete and done. When the word 'teleios' appears in Scripture, it centers on transforming our mind, heart, and character leading to maturity and focus. Walking in the security we have in Christ should drive our direction, define our priorities, and determine what we pursue.
We must know God to know ourselves. We can't bypass the process.
Talking about God's call for your life can be very intimidating. It may seem like such a big undertaking that you don't know where to start. There may also be a fear of being wrong or a fear of misinterpreting that call that makes you hesitant to move. You may push in different directions due to a feeling of futility. But, what if we replaced this sense of futility with a posture of curiosity? What if we took the time to learn our strengths, weakness, and pace? To be yourself, you must know yourself.
Reflection
How would you describe your current pace of life?
What are some warning signs alerting you that you are at or over the Red Line?
Prayer
God, help me pause long enough to reflect on the pace of my life. Expose the reasons why I push so hard. I desire for my motives to be pure and honor You. May my life serve as an offering. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.
