And
whatever you do, whether in word
or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians
3:17
One of my favorite segments of Forrest Gump is when Mr. Gump leaves his
front porch on a journey “for no particular reason”. Forrest spent his life
changing people (Elvis Presley, 2 Presidents, and Coach Bear Bryant to name a
few), but it wasn’t until he took off runnin’ that people began to follow him
in droves. Why did they do that? What was the allure to a below-average
intelligent man from Alabama who just ran? Dedication. Here is the clip to
refresh your memory:
Call it crazy, call it genius, call it what you
will. The man was dedicated to something and went after it more than anything
else. That kind of fanatical dedication is contagious. People want to know why.
People want to know how. People want that in their lives.
I stopped cutting the hair on my face August 5,
2013. I cut it for the first time November 29, 2013. For 116 days I grew a
beard. Much like Mr. Gump, I wasn’t sure why at the beginning. Much like Mr.,
Gump, people took notice after a while and started wondering why I did it. Once
I cut the beard, people wondered why I just stopped.
God, in his supreme wisdom, had a plan for my
beard. He wanted to teach me this lesson with it, so it’d be rude to keep it to
myself. Dedication is contagious, and if you’re zealous enough about it, people
will follow. If I can grow a beard for 116 days (and give my beautiful wife the
patience to love me in spite of my whiskers), how much greater would my light
shine if I served like Christ with such unwavering dedication.
Here are some other dedicated verses by/about
dedicated people:
Leviticus 27:28. Devotion comes from the LORD.
1 Samuel 1: A mother’s word.
Jeremiah 29:13-14. With all your heart.
Philippians 4:13. I can do it all through him.
2 Timothy 4:7-8. Paul’s farewell address.
Like everything I do, I grew my beard in the name
of Jesus for His glory. The reason is a mystery to me no more. The year is
ending; a new year is coming. Find something in your life to teach you
dedication, and watch what God will teach you.
