Who do look up to?  Who do you say “I want to be like ___” in life, whether it’s an athlete, a singer, a writer, or a business mogul?  We all have people we admire for their accomplishments and place in life. Back in the 90s, there was a Gatorade commercial with Michael Jordan in it and the song playing in the background was Like Mike. The lyrics are,

Sometimes I dream that he is me

You’ve got to see that’s how I dream to be

I dream I move, I dream I grove

Like Mike

If I could be like Mike

Oh, if I could be like Mike

Be like Mike, be like Mike

Again I try, just need to fly

Just for one day if I could be that way

I dream I move, I dream I grove

Like Mike

If I could be like Mike

I wanna be, I wanna be

Like Mike

Oh, if I could be like Mike

We want the end result, but few want to put in the work to get there. We want to play ball like Michael Jordan, but we don’t want to put in the hours running drills when no one is watching.  We want to write like a New York Times best seller, but we don’t want to write the multiple manuscripts that are rejected before one is picked up.  We want to sing like platinum recording artist, Mariah Carey, but we don’t want to play in the coffee shops and small gigs for the years leading up to it. We want to have a faith like Billy Graham or Beth Moore, but we don’t want to have to endure the hardships that caused them to know Jesus was their all in all.

Nothing in the world is free.  Anything worth having comes with a lot of time, effort and commitment. Even in the area of faith.  As the saying goes,

You reap what you sow.

If you want to stand boldly for the Lord, without backing down, you must first walk humbly into your quiet place before Him daily [ Psalm 25:4].  If you want to learn how to pray down heaven in any given situation, you must first lift your voice to heaven on a regular basis [Mark 1:35].  Just like any other relationship, a strong relationship with Jesus is developed over time.

I remember hearing Beth Moore speak at an event where she shared as she prayed over people they would say,

I want what you have.”

My question was,

Are they willing to pay the price she paid to get it?”

You and I will never have a deep, abiding relationship with Jesus from saying a blessing over our meal and dropping in for a quick visit on Sundays.  It takes time.

What is it that you want to accomplish? How do you finish the statement, “I want to be like….”?  Are you willing to pay the price?

[youtube]http://youtu.be/1aM8Am2ISh8[/youtube]