By Carol Round, Special to ASSIST News Service
CLAREMORE, OK (ANS – August 24, 2015) “If you love me, keep my commands”—John 14:15 (NIV).
Dubbed
the fastest man on earth, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt set the world
record for running the 100 meter dash in under 10 seconds with a time of
9.58 in the World Athletics Championship finals in 2009. No man has
beaten his record since.
Ten seconds. What can we as
Christians do in that brief time that leads to following Jesus in an
obedient manner? In his book, “The 10 Second Rule: Following Jesus Made
Simple,” author Clare DeGraaf writes, “Most of us would like to think of
ourselves as followers of Jesus, but what does that really mean,
practically?”
In Luke 9:23, Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”
Says DeGraaf, “Simply put, it’s
trusting Jesus enough to say ‘no’ to what we want, and ‘yes’ to what he
wants. So, then why is it we don’t obey him more often than we do?”
During the course of his days,
Graaf began to notice impressions to do something he was reasonably
certain Jesus wanted him to do. “It could be an impression to either do
something good for someone or a warning about a sin I was about to
commit.”
He adds, “Almost simultaneously
I would sense another voice whispering to me. ‘You don’t have time to
do that—helping that person could get messy—you can’t afford to help
them right now.’”
Graaf said if he listened to
this other voice and thought about it too long “the moment for obedience
would pass, often to my relief.” Graaf finally realized he was actually
procrastinating and unintentionally teaching himself the habit of
disobedience because he knew every decision to obey would cost him
something—time, money, embarrassment, inconvenience or a momentary
pleasure denied. By choosing not to obey Jesus, he could avoid all these
things.
Then Graaf learned about the
10-second rule. “It is,” he says, “just doing the next thing you’re
reasonably certain Jesus wants you to do—and doing it immediately before
you change your mind!”
After studying Jesus’
teachings, Graaf has become more spontaneous to simple obedience when
opportunities are sent his way. Graaf says, “The Rule doesn’t require
you to be absolutely certain an impression is from God before you obey.
In fact, I’ve found that the need for certainty is often the enemy of
obedience.”
Even if the impression isn’t from God, he adds, “You’ve still done something good for another person.”
Graff admits he sometimes fail
to live by “The Rule.” However, it has become easier and has changed the
way he responds to others’ needs. “It becomes a Christian habit,” he
adds. “It gives you a place to begin again following Jesus, right
now—today, if you’ve drifted spiritually. It’s following Jesus made
simple and being led by Jesus, moment by moment, day by day—or even in
the next 10 seconds.”
If you want to experience the
natural consequences of a surrendered life, try the 10 second rule. It
might just become a habit—a Godly one.
Photo captions: 1) World champion sprinter, Usain Bolt. 2) Carol Round.
I always love hearing from my readers. If you'd like to comment on this post, please email me at carol@carolaround.com or visit my blog for more inspiration at www.carolaround.com
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