Ambition

My granddaughter's new high score
at Bass Pro Shop's shooting range! This is her ambition :). 

Scripture

Romans 15:20–21

Thus I make it my ambition to proclaim the good news, not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written:

"Those who have never been told of him shall see,

and those who have never heard shall understand."

Observation

As Paul begins to conclude his letter to the church in Rome, he pauses to speak about his ambition. Throughout his life, we catch glimpses of Paul's remarkable drive. He was present when Stephen was stoned. He sought official permission to persecute Christians in Damascus. His ambition was unmistakable.

Then Jesus met him on the road to Damascus.

Paul did not lose his ambition. Instead, it was completely redirected. For the rest of his life, his ambition became proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. Rather than building on someone else's work, he longed to take the gospel to people who had never heard the name of Christ. The same passion that once drove him to oppose the church now compelled him to carry the gospel to the nations.

Application

I'm not always sure what to think about the word ambition. It can carry both positive and negative connotations, and perhaps that was true even in Paul's life. His ambition was destructive when it was driven by his own purposes. It became life-giving when it was surrendered to Christ.

Perhaps the issue is not ambition itself, but what directs it.

When Paul gave himself fully to Christ, every part of his life came under the lordship of Jesus. His gifts, his intellect, his determination, and his energy were all sanctified for God's purposes. He did not become less passionate. He became passionate about different things.

This passage also reminds me of a conversation I had years ago. Someone told me that after a meeting, another person had remarked that I seemed ambitious. His response was, "I think you mean she's a leader."

I've reflected on that conversation many times.

Was someone seeing genuine ambition? Was my leadership being misunderstood? Or was there discomfort simply because I was a woman leading?

Over the years, I've realized those aren't always easy questions to answer. Like Paul, I've had to ask a deeper question instead: What is driving me?

There have undoubtedly been times when my motives needed God's refining work. There have also been times when leadership was misunderstood. But Paul's words remind me that the real issue is not whether we possess ambition. The question is whether our ambition has been surrendered to Christ.

God does not necessarily remove our drive. He redeems it.

When our gifts, passions, and ambitions are yielded to the Holy Spirit, they become instruments for His purposes. That is true for every follower of Christ. Our greatest ambition should always be to make Him known.

Prayer

Lord, may every ambition in my life be surrendered to You. Sanctify my heart, my gifts, and my desires so that everything I am may be used for Your glory. Amen.