What's Your Life Centered On?

1 Corinthians 15: Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you- unless you believed in vain. For I delieverd to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

The following is a story from C.J. Mahaney's book "The Cross Centered Life"

On Monday, Alice bought a Parrot. It didn't talk, so the next day she returned it to the pet store. "He needs a ladder", she was told. She bought a ladder, but another day passed and the parrot still didn't say a word. "How about a swing?" the clerk suggested. So Alice bought a swing. The next day, a mirror. The next day, a miniature plastic tree. The next day, a shiny parrot toy. On Sunday morning, Alice was standing outside the pet store when it opened. She had the parrot cage in her hand and tears in her eyes. Her parrot was dead. "Did it ever say a word?" the store owner asked. "Yes," Alice said through her sobs. "Right before he died, he looked at me and asked, 'Don't they sell any food at that pet store?'"

Often our lives our filled with many distractions that we forget what is of first importance. This story about Alice and her parrot really reminds me of how distracted I am in my own life. There are so many other things that I find to do rather than study God's word. God calls each and every one of us to place the gospel of first importance. "The way we can find out what is of first importance in our life", C.J. says, "is by asking ourselves a few questions."What are you most passionate about? What do you think about when you can think about whatever you want? What do you love to talk about? What defines you.
By asking myself these questions, I quickly found out that my life is certainly not centered on the gospel as it should be. What's your life centered on?

Father, oh how I have fallen short of what you have called me to do. Please forgive me for the many times I have focused my attention on everything else but you. Lord, give me strength to carry out the rest of my days walking in your footsteps. Help me to have a strong desire to follow your word and to study it. I am nothing without you, my Savior. I lift your name up. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

-Adam-