SPECIAL WEEKEND THOUGHT: 👉 Seeking the Spotlight, or Shining the Spotlight 📖
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BibleStudyCam
 March 08 2025
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    “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” (John 12:32 NIV)

    “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26 NIV)

    Looking back on my younger, teenage years, I had a desire to be in the spotlight. Perhaps this came from working behind the scenes, or because everyone I looked up to was in a spotlight of some form. While everyone is different, woven through culture is the belief that to be successful, one must be in a spotlight of some type, whether it's on a literal stage, or simply being known by the culture in some famous, or infamous, way.

    However, Jesus pushes back at this self-focused belief. While some might say that Jesus had this self-focused attitude, such as in the passages from John and Matthew above, Jesus tells us in other places that He doesn't seek glory for Himself (John 8:49-50).

    Everyone alive today has the temptation and desire to be known. For some, this desire wants the literal spotlight to shine on us. For others, it wants attention and acknowledgment to come our way. Culture tempts us to believe that success equals fame. However, Jesus promises to fulfill our desire to be known, but in a different way.

    When we say yes to following Jesus, this decision means saying no to several other things. The decision to follow Jesus means setting our desires aside in favor of God's desires. Jesus challenges His followers to seek God's kingdom first, and let God supply us with what life needs - including the desire to be known (Matthew 6:28-34; 7:22-23).

    While culture tempts us to seek after the spotlight, Jesus challenges His followers to shine the spotlight on God, on God's kingdom, and on the one God raised back to life (Acts 5:30; 10:40; 13:30,37).

    If God chooses to shine His "spotlight" on us, the result will be exposing how sinful we really are (Hebrews 4:12-13). Everyone has sinned, and everyone has fallen short of God's glory/ideal (Romans 3:22-24).

    However, while it would be easy to understand if God chose to reject us as failures, God instead invites us to return to Him. God wants a personal relationship with us. As we grow closer to God, understanding that He loves us in spite of all the sin in our lives (though He never wants us to stay that way), we discover just how great His love us for us:

    “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NIV)

    Instead of seeking the spotlight for ourselves (which only will expose our failures and sin), let's shine the spotlight on Jesus, and what He accomplished for us!

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