John Stott On Ambition

This is one of the many quotes that I have kept in my computer for some time already. It is from John Stott.

John Stott is a British Christian leader and Anglican clergyman who is noted as a leader of the worldwide evangelical movement. He has written over 40 books, including Basic Christianity and The Cross of Christ


In a November 2004 editorial on John Stott, New York Times said that "if evangelicals could elect a pope, Stott is the person they would likely choose."



You can learn more about his ministry at http://www.johnstott.org/

There was this quote from him on ambition that moved me deeply. Too often, our dreams and pre-occupations are so minute as compared to God’s dream for us.

Ephesians 3:20 (The Message)
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Here’s John Stott on Ambition…

The motto of our generation is, “Safety first.” Many young men are looking for a safe job in which they can feather their nest, secure their future, insure their lives, reduce all risk, and retire on a fat pension.

There is nothing wrong in providing for your future, but this spirit pervades our lives until life becomes soft and padded and all adventure is gone. We are so thickly wrapped in cotton wool that we can neither feel the pain of the world nor hear the Word Of God…

Jesus did not remain in the social immunity of heaven, or hide away in the safety of the skies. He entered the zone of danger, risking contamination… How can we make safety our ambition?