To be admired is certainly nice! What do you need to do to be admired? And who do you admire? Should we focus more on admiring others instead of having others admire us? It seems to make sense to focus on admiring others rather than being the one who is admired, right?
Question: So should you be the admirer, or the admired? Write your answer down before reading on.
Admired:
1: to feel respect and approval for (someone or something) 2: to marvel at; to like very much
So when you admire someone, you appreciate them, you respect them, and you approve of them.
The Admirer
The person who is the admirer appreciates the person they admire. They are inexhaustible with words, phrases, and songs about their praises. They will lift them up and make them feel admired. Their words feel good and are very encouraging. Oh, those great admirers!
But the admirer never makes any sacrifices. They always play it safe. And they will not express what they admire in their own life. They renounce nothing (no sacrifice), nor are they willing to express that admiration for another in their own life – too much work, sacrifice, and the fear of how others may view them. So they simply admire.
The Admired
On the other hand, the admired. They admire others as well, but more because they understand the sacrifice of those they admire. The admired made sacrifices, that’s why they are admired. They lived “it” out. The admired, or the follower, aspires with all their heart and strength, to be what and who they admire.
Those who are admired made great sacrifices, thus they are admired. There is a cost associated with sacrifice. And from sacrifice, there are great blessings. I have to refer to the prayer of Jabez here,
“God greatly bless me!”
I Chronicles 4:10
With such a request comes great sacrifice and risk. The admired is willing to step out, to move forward, to sacrifice, in knowing there is a greater result than what can be seen at the moment. Matter of fact, in 1 Chronicles 4:9a the scripture states:
Jabez was more honorable than his brothers.
Do Not Let Life Pass You By
The admirer? Life passes them by. They are left with broken dreams that were thoughts of wishful thinking.
So for me to answer the question,
“So should you be the admirer, or the admired?”
It Is About the Motive of the Heart
I would have to say, I want to be ‘the admired.’ This isn’t to mean that I want to be worshiped or to think of myself more highly than I ought. It simply means I want to have an impact. I want others to see me as someone who tried, pushed forward, cared, loved, and reflected Christ to the best of my abilities. According to the strengths and gifts He gave to me to use.
I want to leave something for my wife to admire, and then my kids. Then others that God allowed me to cross the paths of. I care less now than I did before about what others think. And in spite of cringing when I watch and listen to myself on the podcasts or what I write, or things I’ve done in the past, I learn how I can get better. Better for the Kingdom, better for the King.
Being Put To The Test
In Luke 14:26, 33 Jesus puts the disciples to the test. The question is do they admire Jesus so much that they were willing to give up everything in order to follow Him.
Admirers don’t want to be tested. They just want to wave their hands of encouragement in the air. Take a look at the last part of chapter 14 in Luke, particularly verse 33. The disciples were being tested. The message – sacrifice. Those who sacrifice are admired.
The message here? Don’t just be an admirer. Certainly, we admire others. And most of all we admire God, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, and His work in us. But if we never aspire to become like Him whom we admire, what purpose is there in that? Does that earn us any right standing with Christ or others? Certainly not. It’s the pursuit of being like Him.
Jesus was sharing a very hard teaching to those who were not true followers, about Himself being the Christ. They were offended by how He worded His message. It was hard for them to hear. So as many began to walk away, Jesus asked the disciples, “Are you not going to walk away as well?”
John 6:68-69 NASB
Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 And we have already believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
Challenge of the Week:
The true disciples admire Him (Jesus) and are in it, to be more like Him, until the end. What one thing can you do this week to be admired? In other words, what is a sacrifice you are willing to make to have an impact this next week, and along your lifelong journey? Then do that, and so be it!
