It seemed to be the most important day of my young life. For weeks, I prepared for the upcoming Saturday morning tryout for my junior high school basketball team. My best friend, Ray, and I would work long and hard practicing our shots, improving our dribbling skills and developing our endurance, all in eager expectation of dazzling the coaches and becoming a member of the team.On the evening of the long anticipated morning, Ray and I stayed awake half the night plotting our strategy and building our confidence. We were prepared to out shoot, out jump and out run all the other students to earn our coveted place.
The gym on Saturday was crowded with hopeful candidates, their parents and friends and the watchful eyes of the coaches with their stern and focused looks. Quickly we were put through the paces. The coaches led us through various drills and exercises to evaluate our skill, talent and ability. All morning long, Ray and I impressed the coaches as we demonstrated our expertise side by side. Or, so I thought.
The first indication of my impending demise came when the coaches separated the candidates into two categories at opposite ends of the gym. That was the first time Ray and I were separated. He made the team and I did not.
In the days that followed that disappointing Saturday, I learned two important lessons that have remained with me to this day. First, I discovered that not everyone is created the same. We do not all posses the same talent, capabilities, personalities, interests and passions. The skills in a sporting event, the musical tastes, the way we dress and the food that we prefer all differ from person to person. God made us all different and unique. The variety and diversity of God's design make the world more interesting, complete and challenging. God has created a rich tapestry of beauty and grace.
Secondly, I learned that there is a place for me. Shortly after the infamous day of junior high tryouts, the churches in my community organized a basketball league where I played for several years. During that competition, I made friends that lasted for years and am still grateful for the opportunity to play and have fun in that league.
These two lessons can be learned and appreciated over and over by us all. Thank God that we are all created uniquely and that God has a purpose and a plan for us each. God uses the unique and diverse shape of each persons's life to help build His kingdom and to be His witness in every arena of life. Your interests, abilities, personality and experiences are blended with the spiritual gifts God bestows in your life to be displayed in love in the places and with the people of your life. You are loved by God as a special child of your Heavenly Father and God has a place for you to show that love to all.
The gym on Saturday was crowded with hopeful candidates, their parents and friends and the watchful eyes of the coaches with their stern and focused looks. Quickly we were put through the paces. The coaches led us through various drills and exercises to evaluate our skill, talent and ability. All morning long, Ray and I impressed the coaches as we demonstrated our expertise side by side. Or, so I thought.
The first indication of my impending demise came when the coaches separated the candidates into two categories at opposite ends of the gym. That was the first time Ray and I were separated. He made the team and I did not.
In the days that followed that disappointing Saturday, I learned two important lessons that have remained with me to this day. First, I discovered that not everyone is created the same. We do not all posses the same talent, capabilities, personalities, interests and passions. The skills in a sporting event, the musical tastes, the way we dress and the food that we prefer all differ from person to person. God made us all different and unique. The variety and diversity of God's design make the world more interesting, complete and challenging. God has created a rich tapestry of beauty and grace.
Secondly, I learned that there is a place for me. Shortly after the infamous day of junior high tryouts, the churches in my community organized a basketball league where I played for several years. During that competition, I made friends that lasted for years and am still grateful for the opportunity to play and have fun in that league.
These two lessons can be learned and appreciated over and over by us all. Thank God that we are all created uniquely and that God has a purpose and a plan for us each. God uses the unique and diverse shape of each persons's life to help build His kingdom and to be His witness in every arena of life. Your interests, abilities, personality and experiences are blended with the spiritual gifts God bestows in your life to be displayed in love in the places and with the people of your life. You are loved by God as a special child of your Heavenly Father and God has a place for you to show that love to all.
Tomatoes...When I was young, I never liked tomatoes. They were never appealing to me and I avoided them at all costs. If served on a sandwich or in a salad, the tomatoes would be removed before I began to eat my meal.
That was true until I met my wife Pat. Pat had developed an appreciation for many vegetables that I had spent a childhood diligently dedicated to avoiding and during the time of our courtship she introduced me to many exotic samplings from her father's garden. These included squash, okra, eggplant, radishes and, yes, tomatoes. It did not take long before I was convinced that my childhood had been deprived of a rich bounty of tastes and flavors that God provided in fresh vegetables.
Now, however, I have a problem with tomatoes. It seems that the fresh, vibrant tomatoes from homegrown gardens are hard to find. Instead, the supermarkets have substituted vegetables that have been grown under large, corporate conditions to produce huge quantities at a low cost.
These tomatoes that seem to adorn our plates and dishes, in other words, fail to have the flavor that I have grown to love.
The Bible teaches us that our lives are to bear the Fruit of the Spirit (Galations 5.22-26), which can only be done through a relationship with Jesus by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit (John 15.1-8). The Holy Spirit will produce the very character, love and grace of Jesus in our lives. In order for our hearts and habits to reflect Jesus' love, we must let the Holy Spirit cultivate our roots, eliminate the weeds in our lives and prune them so that fruit can be produced. Whenever we seek God's will for our lives and engage in the practices of worship, bible study, prayer, fellowship and service, the Holy Spirit feeds and nourishes us so that the fruit produced in us is zestful, attractive and pleasing.
What the world needs to see and to experience is Christians producing wholesome and beautiful fruit, the Fruit of the Spirit. Too often, an unattractive, tasteless substitute has been offered for the real thing. As we study together the work of the Holy Spirit in our worship this month, I hope you ask God to work within you and to develop fruit that can touch a life and offer to another what you have discovered in God. Who knows, someone may come to enjoy life in Christ the same way I learned to love homegrown tomatoes.
That was true until I met my wife Pat. Pat had developed an appreciation for many vegetables that I had spent a childhood diligently dedicated to avoiding and during the time of our courtship she introduced me to many exotic samplings from her father's garden. These included squash, okra, eggplant, radishes and, yes, tomatoes. It did not take long before I was convinced that my childhood had been deprived of a rich bounty of tastes and flavors that God provided in fresh vegetables.
Now, however, I have a problem with tomatoes. It seems that the fresh, vibrant tomatoes from homegrown gardens are hard to find. Instead, the supermarkets have substituted vegetables that have been grown under large, corporate conditions to produce huge quantities at a low cost.
These tomatoes that seem to adorn our plates and dishes, in other words, fail to have the flavor that I have grown to love.
The Bible teaches us that our lives are to bear the Fruit of the Spirit (Galations 5.22-26), which can only be done through a relationship with Jesus by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit (John 15.1-8). The Holy Spirit will produce the very character, love and grace of Jesus in our lives. In order for our hearts and habits to reflect Jesus' love, we must let the Holy Spirit cultivate our roots, eliminate the weeds in our lives and prune them so that fruit can be produced. Whenever we seek God's will for our lives and engage in the practices of worship, bible study, prayer, fellowship and service, the Holy Spirit feeds and nourishes us so that the fruit produced in us is zestful, attractive and pleasing.
What the world needs to see and to experience is Christians producing wholesome and beautiful fruit, the Fruit of the Spirit. Too often, an unattractive, tasteless substitute has been offered for the real thing. As we study together the work of the Holy Spirit in our worship this month, I hope you ask God to work within you and to develop fruit that can touch a life and offer to another what you have discovered in God. Who knows, someone may come to enjoy life in Christ the same way I learned to love homegrown tomatoes.
