Competition... a healthy test of our Faith.

As we continue with our theme of Focus, with Christ at the center of all we do, I have been led to share some thoughts with you about how we handle the competition that is provided through sports. I have always enjoyed competition, as I am sure most of you do as well... but it never ceases to amaze me at what competition can do to us. It can seriously make us crazy at times. As I think back to my own athletic career, there are many things that I did or said that I would like to have a "redo" on because I let the intensity of the competition get the best of me.

I have been convicted lately on what it truly means to keep my focus on Christ, which never gives us an out. The Bible does not tell us to honor God with every breath unless we are in a close basketball game, or to glorify Him with everything in us unless we just lost a big game because of a blown call. Whatever the circumstance, good or bad, there is no out for us as coaches or athletes... in all we do, we are called to keep our focus on Christ, and to love one another in the same way that He first loved us.

All of these thoughts have led me to a verse that I am going to use for this weekend's devotion...

Examine youselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you
not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?

2 Corinthians 13:5

I truly believe that athletics are very important for many reasons, but we often don't think about how effective athletics are as a guage of our spiritual health. In this verse Paul is challenging us to examine and test ourselves to see if we are in the faith. For many of us, this happens each time we coach a game at the Community Center. Let me challenge you, that when tested by the intensity and dynamics of competition, you pass the test by keeping your focus on Jesus. By keeping our focus on Jesus, we rely upon His strength and do not compromise the Christ-like Character that we are called to live by as Christians.

When we pass the test each game day, we are modeling what it truly means to live a life focused on Jesus to our teams. With young impressionable people on our teams, it is absolutely critical that we pass this test that Paul is referring to... it is a matter of eternity as we share the love of Christ with others.

We love you all, and we are on this journey together. If I can serve you in any way, please let me know. See you Saturday.

Brody