Last night I sat down and watched “The Biggest Loser: Where Are They Now?” (while eating my traditional bowl of ice cream). It was a special episode of the popular show dedicated to catching up with past contestants to see how well they’ve done at keeping the weight off (or not). I would have been more inspired if I wasn’t so preoccupied with my Moose Tracks ice cream.

As they showed one after another of the show’s previous participants, I was astounded at how many of them have not only lost the weight, kept the weight off, but have since changed their occupation to be a personal trainer so that they might guide, challenge, and encourage others to follow in thier weight-loss footsteps. In succession, I watched each one in a gym classroom, wearing a headset microphone, urging others to shed the pounds they had put on. If they weren’t found leading a class in a gym, they were working one-on-one with a client who had hired them to be their personal coach.

While living in Nyack, New York I remember walking to work one day and coming across an injured bird. Its wing had apparently been hurt somehow and it could no longer fly. I suppose some might have thought “Oh, what a shame” and walked on by. I felt compelled however to pick up the bird, put it in a shoebox and drive it to the local animal doctor. The doctor welcomed the bird, assured me that the wing was mendable, and thanked me for bringing it in. I left with somewhat of a sense of thankfulness that I was able to do something for that bird, even though I’d likely never see it again.

While I left the hospital and drove home, my imagination led me to think about the conversation that bird might have with other birds once he was well and flying again. He’d say to his bird friends, “Yeah, I was in rough shape and it looked like I had no hope of flying again, but then this guy picked me up and took me to this other guy who healed me. And that’s why I’m here today and able to fly with you guys.”

As a child of God and follower of Christ, my deep desire is to help others find the help only found in the healing love of Jesus. And not because I’m something special, but because there was a day when someone told me about the Man who can heal my wounds and make me well. And if I don’t pass that on, then it discredits not only the ones who introduced me to Jesus, but also discredits His work in my life as well.

So, while I was watching that follow-up show last night and thinking, “Gee whiz, another one saying ‘…and now I’m a personal trainer.” I couldn’t help but understand the desire they must have to not let the help and hope they received end with them. I know all about the drive to pass on what they had received. God’s Word puts it this way in Matthew 10:8:
“…freely you have recieved, freely give.”

So, in a spiritual sense, I have to respond to the love of Christ in my own life by saying, in a spiritual sense, “…and now I’m a personal trainer.”