Friday, April 27, 2012

Leaving it all on the field

“And truly, I say to you, wherever the gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.” (Mark 14:9) The woman in Simon’s home broke open an expensive bottle of perfume, anointed Jesus with it, and was ridiculed by all around her . . . except Jesus. Instead He honors her and we hear of her faith to this very day. What might people do to me or think of me as I follow Jesus the way He tells me to? As a lifelong people-pleaser, it pains me to know that there are people that have, are, and will be bothered by what I do and say. As I begin this intentional journey of dying to self and trusting my God with honor, I have chosen an analogy that will help me walk down this road.

The goal of any athlete who wants to give it his or her all is to “leave it all on the field.” Once the game or event is over, they should be able to look themselves in the mirror and say that there was really nothing left for them to give. Then, and only then, whether in blowout victory, a close result, or humiliating loss, can a person say, with integrity, “I gave it my all.” What, after all, is more rewarding than knowing that you did what you could to win, or help your team win?

Once God chooses that my time on this earth is over, I want to be able to say to His face, “Lord, I really don’t know what else I could have done . . . I gave You my all!” If God were to take me today, just having turned 44, I could not say that. This saddens me, but it doesn’t sadden me enough. My prayer is that this journey will not only shape what I do with my life, but will shape my heart as His heart is shaped.

As Harold Crick, in “Stranger than Fiction,” willingly faces his death after finding out how noble of a death it was, I want to live out my days the way God prescribes because I know that it will be a noble death in the way He defines it. He knows what He’s doing. Just as Jesus said of that woman, may He say of us, that we did all that we could (Mark 14:8a).

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