I Would Die For Them... Maybe

I remember overhearing a conversation between these two guys, a young man, and an older man. The younger man said, "I hope when I get older, I am kind and optimistic like you. I am just so afraid of turning out to be a grumpy old man." The older man's response stuck with me. "Friend, you won't grow up to be a grumpy old man. Grumpy old men, were grumpy young men. When you get older, you just become an older version of who you were as a younger man." 

This concept stuck with me, and I think it applies to many aspects of our lives, but here is the overarching thought I want to share with you today.

We are, and we become, what we practice every day. 

There is no moment when we just miraculously become more grumpy; but there also isn't a moment when we miraculously become more noble, more committed, more kind, or more loving.

I have heard people use the phrase, "I would die for them" many times. Often times it's in a moment when someone is making a dramatic statement to contrast their behavior. For instance, "I may not be real kind or real present for my wife and kids, but I would die for them."

The stark reality is, if you won't give up a TV show to talk to your kids or if you won't miss a football game to go on a date with your wife, you probably aren't going to die for them.

You don't miraculously become someone different in moments of great stress. The truth is, in moments of great stress, your true character shines through.

So here is my encouragement to you. Start today. Work today, apply today, strive today to become who you want to be when you are older, in moments of great stress. 

How do we do that? By leaning into Jesus. 

The first part of James 4:8 says it this way, "Come near to God and He will come near to you."

As we grow closer to God, we simultaneously become more like who God wants us to be, and become more like the person we want to be later in life, and in our present difficult moments.

Don't wait for your miraculous change to come out of nowhere. It doesn't come simply from an elongated amount of time. It comes from a daily commitment to change and grow closer to Jesus.