It's time to go deeper!

"...present your bodies as a living sacrifice,

holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship...”

Romans 12:1-2

On March 4, 1993, Jim Valvano, a former basketball coach at North Carolina State, gave a speech that captivated the country. He was suffering from cancer, and knowing his life would soon end, Valvano gave this advice:

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. Number one is to laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think, you should spend some time in thought. And number three is you should have your emotions moved to tears. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”

What was he saying? If you want to experience the fullness of life, go deeper. 

So many men exist in the superficial. The comfortable. The mundane. Our conversations are surface level. Our minds are rarely challenged with deep thought. We refuse vulnerability, avoid transparency, and hide our emotions. 

To be the man God has called us to be, we must move past the superficial.

Romans 12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

The pursuit of manhood is not just the pursuit of being a better man. It is the pursuit of THE man, Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a sacrificial life not a superficial one, and this is the life He calls us to. Superficial is casual and easy but sacrifice cuts deep and costs much. Superficial is temporary but sacrifice is transformational.

We must move from superficial to sacrificial.  

• From mundane guy talk to iron-sharpening-iron conversations. 

• From skimming the scriptures to mining for truth. 

• From mindless routines to intentional pursuit.

• From talking about God to talking to God. 

• From sitting back to stepping out.

• From being a consumer to being a creator and a giver.

From being just a better man to being more like THE man, Jesus Christ.

John Meriweather

MD5 Facilitator