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A young man tells a professional football player that he would do anything and everything to make it to the NFL. He then asks the professional athlete what he did to get to the NFL. The football player replied, "I did anything and everything."
You want to start on your local athletic team? You want to win the spelling bee? You want to be tapped for the leading role in the play? Have you done anything and everything? Have you made yourself into a coachable tool that can be applied to the task at hand?
I am reminded of a story an opposing team player shared about the late legendary basketball player Coby Bryant. He came into the gym and saw Coby practicing hard hours before the game. He joined him at the other end of the floor and then after 90 minutes stopped while Coby kept practicing. Coby's team, the Lakers, won the game that night. After the game the opponent asked Coby about his lengthy pre-game practice to which Coby replied, "I saw you. I just wanted you to know that no matter how hard you worked, I was willing to work harder."
Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.
2 Timothy 2:22
How hard are you working for the Kingdom. Not to get into the kingdom because that only comes through faith and not works. However, it is our job to make ourselves useable by God. We have the free will to do so. If you desire the Lord to work in your life then make yourself useable! Throw yourself into the scriptures with the same passion you do to make yourself a better football player, athlete, musician, etc.
When they cut you open, do you bleed Christianity? Have you spent significant time on your knees asking God for His forgiveness and praising him for all he has done for you. When confronted with opposition do you turn to prayer first? Do you take the time to discover in the scriptures all the things that God hates and systematically seek to remove them from your life? Discover what God loves and emulate these things.
If you are not a man of prayer, then all your theology is just marbles of little boys. Your theology is just pieces in a child's game if it is not buttressed with a relationship with God. We have but one method to communicate with God and if we do not use it then there is not enough theology in the world to bring us closer to God.
