What Does This Win Mean to You?

As we begin a new calendar year, the football season is coming to a close in college and the NFL. Michigan and Washington will compete for the CFP National Championship on Monday and the NFL playoffs begin on January 13th. As teams win these marquee games and celebrate championships, they will be asked to answer the reporters' questions immediately following their victories. The questions will go something like this: What does this win mean to you? How important was this win for you? As the players consider the dedication, sacrifice, and passion involved, they tell us how meaningful the win is to them. They respond with these answers: “It just means everything.” “It means the world to us.” “This game means so much to me.” “It really means a lot to get this win.” When big playoff games are won, these players and coaches are overcome with emotion, excitement, and relief in the postgame interviews as they reveal how important the win is to them. As we reflect on our lives and where we’re at in our faith journey, we must consider these questions: What does Jesus mean to you? How important is Jesus in your life? What does His win over sin and death mean to you? As we consider the dedication, sacrifice, and passion involved with following Jesus and how meaningful our victory in Christ truly is, we can give these responses: “He means everything.” “He means so much to me.” So, is Jesus the most important part of our lives? Does our mindset, behavior, and perspective reflect that He is? How much does His victory (His death and resurrection on our behalf) mean to us? When we think about how much God loves us and how His grace has saved us from our sins, are we overcome with emotion, excitement, and relief? How much does it mean to us that we've been given victory, salvation, eternal life, and the opportunity to know God intimately? Today, let’s make sure that Jesus means more to us than everything else and let our lives demonstrate why He’s most important to us. Let’s be challenged with Paul’s perspective found in Philippians 3:8-9 (AMP): “But more than that, I count everything as loss compared to the priceless privilege and supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord . "For His sake, I have lost everything, and I consider it all garbage, so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him , not having any righteousness of my own derived from the Law and its rituals, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.” I’m Bryce Johnson, and you can UNPACK that! PRAYER: Heavenly Father, You give my life meaning and purpose. Help me ensure that Jesus means everything to me, and He is the most important part of my life. I pray I wouldn’t value anything more than Him and be willing to sacrifice anything to be wholly devoted to Him. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.