Devotion for the Week of January 8, 2007

Last week I saw the movie, Night at the Museum and I really enjoyed it. Now, while I enjoyed if for all of the reasons most people enjoyed this film, I had an additional reason. One of my favorite historical figures was a character in this film, Teddy Roosevelt. For those of you who don’t know much about Teddy other that what you saw in this movie and the fact that the Teddy Bear is named after him, let me briefly explain why he is my favorite historical figure.

Theodore was born in 1858 in New York. He was a bit of a runt with a frail body, feeble eyesight and he suffered from asthma - yet he became one of the most powerful men on earth. But not just power for power's sake for he also won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906.

When Theodore was a boy he decided he wanted to do something important with his life, so he started expanding his mind and strengthening his body. This ambition continued throughout his life. He was elected to the New York Legislature at twenty-three; candidate for mayor at twenty-eight; served as the U.S. Civil Service Commissioner under two presidents; President of the Police Commission of New York; and became a National Hero as leader of the Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War at forty. Then in just three very busy years he was first the Governor of New York, Vice-President of the United States, and then President. He was not a big man physically, only 5 foot, 8 inches tall. It was not the size of the man that mattered, but the size of the ambition. He had a fire in his belly that directed him to do something worthwhile with his life.

And its not just politicians that can do great things through their ambition. Both Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr. had ambition. Nobody accomplishes very much in this world nor contributes very much to the world without a dose of ambition. In fact, given enough ambition, even the least likely of people can make a difference in sharing God's love.

So, this begs the question, “What ambitions has God given to you?”

Thus I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him shall see, and those who have never heard of him shall understand."
(Romans 15.20-21)