By Brad Bloom, Publisher
Physical fitness and spiritual wellness are at record lows. Yet virtual anti-social play is at an all time high. Take a look at where all the pretending has gotten us. We’re looking not just at social distractions but at the fitness and bodybuilding culture AND the church community. Past the obsessive egos and the spiritually fluffy, God’s reality for us is bigger than life.
Take a break from your reality for a moment and calibrate where you are in life.
Have you seen pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows? I’m serious this tune has gotten and continues to get some crazy exposure on the Internet, radio and everywhere else. Never mind what it means, if it means anything at all. As one person put it, “You can’t get much more harmless than a mythical animal (Who’s pink and fluffy), with a ‘smiling texture’, dancing down a rainbow. All seriousness aside, let’s appreciate the silly things.”
Fantasyland is innocent enough. Dorothy’s trip to Oz led her to conclude, “There’s no place like home.” But, today’s culture drives dollars by converting the occasional visit into a permanent dwelling place. In 2016 there was a phase when Pokemon Go opened our eyes to see the creatures of all shapes and sizes that live among us, “in the real world”. Fabricated truth isn’t just computer generated animation – a clan of real people living in a home somewhere in LA aptly named FaZe, drive millions of YouTube views and daily celebrate an exaggerated and self-centered reality. Who would have thought that there would be such a thing as Fake News and that it would be so prevalent that we’d see police protecting people from some who react to it. The often asked question to WWF fans, “You know it’s fake, Right?” is now applicable to many sports, most social media (including our own profiles) and for much of life in general. Yikes!
CALIBRATE YOUR FITNESS
Fitness isn’t exempt. Some of the most amazing physiques are a product of the highly scientific use of steroids, an ultra calculated and controlled diet and extreme training. It requires lots of money, time, focus and obsession. The thousands who compete in bodybuilding and many more who just want to have the ideal body find that the vision of perfection is never achievable a moving goal that never satisfies. To the other extreme, many gyms are making money from people who pay monthly memberships and regularly exercise something (clearly not their body) or they can’t remember when they last went to the gym to workout.
Take a moment, be honest with yourself and consider how your physical fitness is part Fantasyland experience. What would it take to calibrate it differently and make it more God-directed?
CALIBRATE YOUR FAITH
‘Spirituality’ too has it’s own place in Fantasyland. Some want to play the role of Pharisee while others enjoy being fanatical. Most imagine faith as a state of goodness that is still socially acceptable if it is plain vanilla. It is increasingly archaic yet nonetheless hopefully helpful in emergencies.
When was the last time you really looked closely at how you live your faith? To make God an important part of your life means to calibrate your spirit, find your true north and get a clear signal for accurate direction. How can you begin doing that today?
So the stage is set daily for another show of Fantasyland. End of story? No.
The cool thing is we can be so much more. Beyond all the hopeless reality and all of our pretending to get far from it, God can fulfill your inner desire to be bigger than life.
I've got the inside story on this from God himself. See for yourself into the mystery of Christ. The Message is accessible and welcoming to everyone, across the board. I am writing about things that are way over my head, the inexhaustible riches and generosity of Christ.
Through followers of Jesus this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about. When we trust in him, we’re bold to go wherever we need to go. I get down on my knees and ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you. Take in the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God. God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!
Train strong in Christ,
Brad Bloom, Publisher
This article appears in the February/March 2017 issue of Faith & Fitness Magazine.
