Why? | a 3-Day Skate Church Movement Devotionalਨਮੂਨਾ

The meaning of life

“No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is brought to full expression in us.” 1 John 4:12

We all have the desire to live out our calling, but figuring out what that calling is seems to be the question most people ask in life. What is it that I want to do with my life? What was I created to do? What brings me the most fulfillment? Everyone is searching for something that makes their life feel like it’s worth living. For most, it ends up being the pursuit of money, fame, or recognition, but even in those pursuits, there is something deeper that most are seeking. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

Skaters are almost always given value, worth, or popularity through their ability to skate. Think about it—the skaters with the largest following, the most board sales, shoe endorsements, or the biggest paychecks are generally rooted in their ability to skate; how well they compete in contests, how often they put out a video part, if they’ve won trick of the year, or been crowned SOTY. We’re pulled into this trap as well with the desire to progress and learn new tricks, hit bigger sets, or longer handrails. The desire to push ourselves and pursue excellence is actually a Biblical challenge, but have you ever stopped to ask yourself if there is more to life than just skateboarding? My whole life, I have tried to define myself through my performance and to gain recognition through skateboarding. To be honest, I am still doing it a lot of the time.

But here’s the thing: the Bible talks about one thing that is not temporary, one thing that is worth living for, worth pursuing, and worth putting above everything else. This is love. 1 John 4:10 tells us, “This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” In Romans 5:8, Paul writes, “But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” The thought that God’s love for us was completely and entirely unconditional and not based on our performance contradicts almost everything that we know. It would be like a kid that just started skating, not knowing how to do a single trick yet, getting sponsored by a bunch of companies, getting a shoe deal, and receiving a salary for just pushing around!

Our response to God’s love is to love Him and to love others. This is the simple Gospel. He loved us first, and because of this love, we get the opportunity to love others. We love skateboarding, learning new tricks, and getting stoked for our friends when they land something new. And just like our love of skateboarding, we get to share our love for God with others.

pushing further

1. Do you feel like your life has meaning?
2. Are you living for what’s next, always pursuing something else?
3. What would it look like to stop and think about what your end goal is?
4. What are you truly hoping to achieve or accomplish?
5. Do you really think it will satisfy you when you get it?

Want more content like this? We adapted this Plan from a 52-week Skate Church Movement Devotional Book. Get your book atskatechurchmovement.com.