Choose one chair
We cannot grow as Christians until we fully commit our lives to Christ.
“When I was a boy, my father, a baker, introduced me to the wonders of song,” tenor Luciano Pavarotti relates. “He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice. Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in my hometown of Modena, Italy, took me as a pupil. I also enrolled in a teachers college. On graduating, I asked my father, ‘Shall I be a teacher or a singer?’ He replied with the one statement that has stuck with me my whole life:
“’Luciano, if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose one chair.'
“I chose one. It took seven years of study and frustration before I made my first professional appearance. It took another seven to reach the Metropolitan Opera. And now I think whether it is laying bricks, writing a book—whatever we choose—we should give ourselves to it. Commitment, that is the key. Choose one chair.”
It would have been futile for Luciano to pursue both careers. Although he was talented in both, he could not perfect both skills. Becoming a success meant giving his life completely to one of the options.
The same is true in our lives as Christians. Either we can live for God and completely serve Him, or we can live for the world and ignore God’s commands. Christ said it best when He said, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).
Just as Luciano could not develop his skill until he fully committed himself to one path, we cannot grow as Christians until we fully commit our lives to Christ. If you desire to grow this new year and make this a year of spiritual growth, you must put away anything that would hinder you and fully commit to following the Lord.
Are you sitting in two chairs? Are you trying to live for God while still holding on to some things in the world? God wants your full surrender and commitment, and only when you let go of the chair of the world can you give Christ your all.
Spend some time in prayer right now. Ask God to reveal to you any areas of your life that need to be let go. Completely surrender your will and commit to following Him alone this year.
Source: DITW, January 2, 2009