Intentional Potential

Last weekend I had the awesome opportunity to walk among great people in our nation’s Capitol. Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Jefferson, Washington, the signers of the Declaration of Independence, the Heroes of WWI, WWII, and Vietnam, and many others. What amazes me about these great people is their incredible potential lived out in amazing ways. How does one come to live out this kind of potential?

When in his late 20’s, Benjamin Franklin made a list of thirteen virtues that he would dedicate his life to live by. Franklin was a leading author and printer, comedian, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman and diplomat. It is quite evident that the acorn of Franklin’s potential developed him into an oak of a man. What we take from a man like him is not only did his define his potential through his list of virtues but he then lived them out. Some may say he was destined to do great things. Who am I that I’ll become like him?

That very question is what amazes me about The Greatest Generation (WWII Veterans). They were all simple people who saw what needed to be done and did it. They defined their potential was defined in different ways through their upbringing. What really gets me when I watch interviews of “Heroes of WWII” is that they do not see themselves as “Heroes.” They saw what needed to be done and they did it.

Jim Smith, glad he’s back in the office, keeps running around, talking about being intentional. He keeps trying to convince me, and anyone who will listen, that we have to be “Intentional Christians.” I think he might be on to something. Dan and I were talking about the idea of potential and I brought Jim up and almost simultaneously we came out with “Intentional Potential.” Not that we would give Jim any credit to a great idea, but we need to be intentional with the potential that is going to drive us as Christians.

How do we define it? A good list is found in Colossians 4:2-6: Devoted to Prayer, Watchful, Thankful, Be Wise in Action, Be Opportunists, and be Gracefully Salted Conversationalists. Let these be your Six Virtues for the Intentional Potential of a Christian. No matter what your age is, let’s define the greatness God has called us to and live up to this Intentional Potential.