Some people will read their Bibles, and other people will read you and me.
Today I want to give you the heart behind how my blog became a melting pot for faith + fitness and why the name Seek + Abide is so significant.
Over the last five and a half years since I have began coaching and pouring myself into fitness and nutrition, I have radically transformed my mental and physical health. Life looks so much different for me today because of the intentional focus I have had on making progress in those aspects of my life.
As I was setting my new 5 year goals this year, there was one very obvious thing that I desired more than anything else. Something that I had never actually set real goals around before.
I wanted the same level of growth in my relationship with Christ that I have seen in my health and fitness over the last 5 years. I wanted my spiritual life (and how I live that out in practical ways on a daily basis) to be ignited and completely transformed.
And here’s what I’ve learned. The level of our growth and success and transformation in any area or aspect of life is directly proportionate to what we invest into those areas. More simply stated, what we focus on, expands.
I knew that if I wanted spiritual growth, I needed to elevate the level in which I was seeking and connecting with Christ on a daily basis. And I wanted this for me, but I also wanted this for you. So this blogging platform, Seek + Abide, was created to be a shared experience where we can cultivate forward progress together, spiritually + mentally + physically.
I think the number one thing that holds people back from advancing in both their fitness and their walk with Christ is the excuse that life is busy. We don’t feel like we have the necessary time or energy required to invest.
In the busyness of life, even with the best of intentions, I’ve noticed Christians start to allow a multitude of things to become substitutes for Christ. Sunday morning church services, volunteering, listening to a Christian podcast, mission work, etc. We’ve attached ourselves to these things in pursuit of living out our calling, but too often we’ve let them actually replace Jesus, himself.
John 15:4 says “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”
We’re doing things to learn and serve and live out our faith, but in the busyness of it all, are we actually crowding out Christ? Hear me out.
Because here’s the thing…
The church is not the vine.
Volunteering is not the vine.
Our podcasts, our mission work, our pastors, our life groups, our ministries (though all great things), ARE NOT THE VINE.
Jesus himself is the vine. If we are going to grow closer to Christ and step into all that God has called us to, we must seek and abide in him. This is prayer and reading and meditating on the Word of God. It’s a daily intention. A constant focus. Our life-giving source that cannot be substituted. And with the help of this new online space, that’s where I want to draw us back to. Back to the most important priority of them all. Back to Christ. Back to his Word. Back to his promises.
I saw a quote over on Instagram this week that proposed the question, “If we can’t tell a difference between our favorite Christian influencer and non-Christian influencer, then is their influence from God or from the world?”
The truth is, we have too many influencers who claim to be living for Jesus but who are not actually in close relationship with him. How do we know? Because what they share on their platform looks and sounds exactly like our culture, not like Christ. Sure they might throw out a few cute Christian quotes here and there, but the majority of their messages are the same as their non-believing peers. They spend more time on IG stories than they do soaking up the Scriptures (I’ve been guilty of this myself). Regardless of their motives, their faith ends up being more attention-seeking than Kingdom-building. And often perhaps, dare I say it, more to build a social media following than to build followers of Jesus. Yikes.
Through this blog, Seek + Abide, I want to build up influencers who are so full of Jesus that his messages of hope and truth and love flow abundantly through them into their personal and online spheres of influence.
If abiding in Christ doesn’t precede our actions to bring Jesus to the world, then we don’t accurately represent him. Some people will read their Bibles, and other people will read you and me. As Christians, we need to be an accurate picture of who God is, of his character and of his love.
People won’t turn the hearts of people to Jesus. Only God can do that. And he will do it through us, but it will only happen when we are first connected to the source of life, the true vine, Jesus Christ.
Come, Seek + Abide with me.
Tell me in the comments, what is one thing that would help you draw closer to Jesus?
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