A Worthy Resolution: Living for the Fame of Jesus Christ in 2014!

Recently my 6 year old son surprised me by asking me to “send a picture of you and I to everyone in the world, which everyone would like and would make us really famous.”  I agreed that I would send it to family, but reminded him that the most important thing is for us to make Jesus famous instead of ourselves, and he agreed.  But it did make me pause and think…where did this idea come from?  My wife and I are both on Facebook, but we don’t obsess over how many people “like” a picture that we post.  I realized that my son is growing up in a world where he not only expects to see pictures instantly, but also for at least some of those pictures to end up somewhere on the internet where, if friends and family like them, why not everyone?  He is growing up in a world saturated with social media and reality shows where truly everybody wants to be famous.

Reminding him that we live to make Jesus famous, not ourselves, was not simply a way for me to “shepherd my child’s heart,” but a divine appointment as I am still examining my own heart a few days later.  Am I living to make Jesus famous above all else?  This idea goes far beyond social media, instant pictures, and TV.  This idea goes to the very core of who we are and what we are living for, and on the eve of 2014 I can think of no better resolution than to live for the fame of Jesus Christ more than ever this year.

While words like “glory” and “praise” are used much more often to describe the honor that Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord should receive, the word “fame” is used as well in the Bible.  Moses talks about the fame that the LORD had among the surrounding nations (Numbers 14:15), and Psalm 145:7 sings to God about generation after generation pouring “forth the fame of your abundant goodness” and singing “aloud of your righteousness.”  In the New Testament, the Gospels talk about Jesus’ fame spreading throughout certain regions, often after He taught or did miracles (Matt. 4:24, 9:31, 14:1, Mark 1:28).  As the “gospel of the kingdom” spread, “His fame spread…” (Matthew 4:23-24)

If my highest goal is to spread the fame of Jesus Christ then this will affect how I live in my home, at work, in my friendships, with extended family, in my church, in my neighborhood, and with a desire for His fame to spread around the world.  Maybe it is time for you to refocus.  Jesus died and rose again “that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.” (2 Corinthians 5:15)  There truly is no greater resolution.