Drafted
“The body we're talking about is
Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and
function as a part of His body.” Romans 12:5
The NFL football season will not begin until
the end of the summer but the hype of the season carries on throughout the
year. From the release of the 2014 season schedules
this week to Draft Day next week, all teams have reasons to hope that this
could be the year. For some, it just
can’t get here soon enough.
From the general
manager’s selection of players to the coaches training of them, it’s all about
preparation. Days, weeks and months are spent in the
weight room, studying plays in the off season, and running to condition their
bodies for kickoff time. At that time,
all the readiness will come together for
the, “moment of
truth.” Once a player is drafted by a
sports franchise, their entire focus becomes the success of the team that has
chosen them to win a title. The same can
be said about a relationship with Christ. Paul describes God’s team as those that have been “chosen” or
“drafted” by God Himself, for His very own purpose. Romans 12:5 says, “The body we're
talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning
and function as a part of His body.” Our full focus is for His glory and His mission. .
Vince Lombardi wrote a book entitled, Run to
Daylight. It contains a chapter on running backs. It describes how football
players learn all the plays, and then practice them over and over again until
everything becomes practically automatic. And when game-time arrives, they have to remember all the numbers, and
all the signals, and all the advice, and all the coaching. But as the running
back tucks the ball under his arm and begins to run, he has time to remember
only one thing, Lombardi says, to run to daylight. If the hole in the opposing
team's defense doesn't open where you expected it to open up and you see
daylight somewhere else, you run to daylight. And if you get through the line
and the secondary begins to close in, again,
you look for the daylight and run for the daylight.
Some have described that players will have
put in over 10,000 hours of their lives to reach that place of excellence.
It’s commitment at its best. But the
same is true for those who would richly prepare themselves for life’s obstacles
and the enemy of our souls who truly desires to defeat us every day of our
lives. We can fall back on the NFL of Christian living.
1) N-udging
Tom Landry once said, "The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don't
want to do, in order to achieve what they've always wanted to be." In a sense, the Holy Spirit “nudges” us to
do what we don't want to do in order to become what we've always wanted to be. This
is the Holy Spirit’s work in moving us toward Christ. John 16:13 says, “But when the Friend comes, the Spirit of the Truth, He will
take you by the hand and guide you into all the truth there is. He won’t draw
attention to Himself, but will make sense out of what is about to happen.” He
will nudge us toward the Savior.
2) F-orgiving
This is the grace that makes it all real. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” In that relationship God offers us
forgiveness. Once we accept God's love and forgiveness through Christ, it all
becomes real.
3) L-eading
God's leading us into a life that everyday
becomes more and more like the life of Jesus. That's what the disciples did. Jesus lead
them not only to the cross, but beyond. They were filled by the Holy Spirit and
used to declare the gospel to the world around them. We are called to do the same. Acts
20:24 says, “What matters most to me is
to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting
everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.”
It was Paul’s all-consuming focus and it becomes that to all who love Him.
Faith living is all about a life of His
nudging, forgiving, and leading. Whether you are a sports fan or
far from it, it’s the NFL at work in us. Greater than a pro athlete, you have been
“Drafted” by God Himself, as “Chosen People” for His purposes. This is the grace of God working in our lives
before we're really aware that it is working. It is God knowing our name and
calling us by that name to get our attention.
It’s pretty simple, really. Just
like football, all you have to do is “Run
to the Light.”
Terry Risser
Reflections:
1) What comes to mind when you think of the
fact you have been “chosen?”
2) Ask the Lord to give
you a new understanding of your value to Him.
Consider reading the Word today:
Copyright 2014- Terry Risser
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