The highlight of my sophomore year in high school was when I
was chosen to serve as the team manager for the 10th grade
basketball team. Part of it was luck; I sprained my wrist the first day of
tryouts so the coach didn’t cut me. I wouldn’t have made the team otherwise.
The coach could tell I loved basketball by the fact that I willing to come to
practice and observe the team while my wrist was healing. I would even
participate in the conditioning drills (I was the slowest guy on the court). He
figured at that point that I’d be the ideal person to retrieve basketballs and
clean up after the team. I was able to practice with the team and he even let
me dress on game days. Three times during blowout losses, he even let me play a
few minutes.
One afternoon practice session, while we were running
ladders, our coach was in a particularly unhappy mood. It seemed like the only
thing that would cure his unhappiness was seeing us run. During the drill, the
coach yelled over the sound of sneakers marking up the gym floor, “We are going
to run until you all cannot run any longer.” Anyone who has ever had to endure
a coach’s ire understands what that meant. We weren’t stopping anytime soon. So
I did what I thought would try and do my part to end this madness. In order to help
him see we were already at the point of exhaustion, I started to make a facial
expression that would “show” how hard I was trying (or perhaps going into
labor).
One of the team’s better players wasn’t buying it. In the
middle of my drill he yelled, “Mario, anyone can make a face like they are in
pain!” I was embarrassed. Partly because he had done it in front of the coach
and my teammates and partly because I knew it was true. When you are the team
manager, your existence can seem fraudulent. For many outside of the team (and
who don’t care enough to follow sports closely), you’re ‘on the team.’ But to
those inside the locker room, whose approval matters most you really aren’t a
part of the team.
Why do I bring this story up? To serve as an encouragement
that encountering God and becoming intentional entails much more than putting
on a good show. Depending in the religious environment you’ve grown up in,
these ideas are often judged by how things look to the naked eye. The more you
shout, the more you cry, or the louder the ‘AMEN,’ the greater the encounter. Intentionality
brings the expectation that I have to ‘share my faith’ with every friend (and
even strangers) I come across. When we begin to share our spiritual stories
with each other, it can often devolve into exaggerated storytelling, but with
Christian lingo (adults are really good at this when trying to establish their
spiritual worth to others). The problem is that this can leave many of us
feeling like frauds. Maybe I’m not encountering God at all? Maybe I’m not
intentional enough? Self-doubt and
condemnation can become the ideas that form our sense of spiritual identity.
All the while, we sweep our doubts under the rug so we can fit in.
Authentically pursuing God as a community goes beyond the
putting on of appearances. So far, you’ve received some solid instruction about
what it means to abide in Christ and why intentionality is important. Guard
your heart! Being intentional for the sake of looking intentional will
only further frustrate the discipleship process. I would like to humbly suggest
that as we continue to learn from (encounter) Jesus, intentionality will
naturally follow (like a tree producing fruit).
As members of the church and larger community, remember the
following as you desire to encounter, grow and live your lives in a way that is
not only for God’s glory, but for the good of all creation:
1.
Jesus has proclaimed that the Kingdom of Heaven
is here and available. (Many are surprised to learn that Heaven is more than
just a place we go when we die) This is indeed the life God has for all of us.
We can receive it by putting our confidence in Christ, leaving behind the
anger, manipulation, lust, contempt, and worldly measures of success that can
so easily shape our view of the world. He invites us to put his words into practice.
(Matthew 5-7)
2.
He has invited us to learn from Him. He tells us
that his yoke is easy and his burden is light. We will find rest for our souls.
(Matthew 11:28-30)
3.
Trust that as we grow in maturity, who we are in
Christ will be made evident in the contexts of our God-given personalities. We
don’t have to compare ourselves or be anyone else (I still really struggle with
this one). We can truly be ourselves while we encourage others to become who
they are intended to be.
Seeing God’s world God’s way will
not only allow us to abide safely within Christ’s presence, our lives will
begin to take on the same rhythms and movement that Jesus’ did during his earthly
ministry. The longing to encounter God and to make each moment of our lives
count are satisfied perfectly when we live in the goodness of Jesus’ life
together.
Glad to be part of this Ethos community.
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