My oldest son is a sports enthusiast, athletically talented and drawn to anything that resembles a ball. And in a family that has very little experience or interest in organized sports, he is proof that nurture may direct a child, but it is the Lord who formed him uniquely in the womb.<\/p>\n
One of his recent interests has been the YouTube show \u201cNo Days Off,\u201d a series of documentaries that highlights young athletes who are performing at levels above their peers. Raw talent may be exhibited in each to some degree, but it is their level of commitment to the sport and to their fitness that is breathtaking. At twelve, ten, or eight years old, these kids are out practicing every single day, physically training their bodies to endure the rigors of the sport, and even enlisting personal trainers to teach them the finer details and keep their motivation elevated. And they take joy in every minute of their pursuit.<\/p>\n
What a witness to other athletes to step up their commitment to their own athletic development and raise the level of their love for their sport?<\/p>\n
Perhaps there is something here for the Christian.<\/p>\n
I am reminded of Paul\u2019s letter to the Corinthian church, where he likens the Christian to the athlete.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you not know that all the runners in a stadium compete, but only one receives the prize? So, run to win. Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.\u201d <\/strong>– 1 Corinthians 9:24-25<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
And what is our prize? Is it to stretch our bodies to new heights, until age or injury eventually ruins what we have worked so hard to build? Is it merely self-exaltation, demonstrating to the public masses what we can personally achieve, immortalizing our lives into meaningless statistics? Or is it to fill a shelf with plastic trophies destined for the landfill? Or is it something more significant?<\/p>\n
No, we seek a true treasure of priceless worth (Mat. 13:44-46). Jesus Christ\u2014in whom is eternal life (1 Jo. 5:11; John 6:47; Rom. 6:23). Not only a long existence but abundant life (John 10:10). For He is the substance of life (John 6:48), and knowing Him is life itself (John 17:3). He is so glorious a reward, that death is gain (Phil. 1:21), and even the sufferings of this life are not fit to be compared (Romn 8:18) with eternity with Him.<\/p>\n
But do our lives demonstrate this worth? Or are these young athletes putting our passion to shame?<\/p>\n
Do we pursue holiness (Heb. 12:14), devoting ourselves to the apostles\u2019 teaching and fellowship (Acts 2:42) so that we can obey all that Christ has commanded us\u2014out of love for Him (John 14:15; 1 Jo. 5:3)? Do we glorify God, even in the most mundane rituals of life\u2014whether eating or drinking (1Co. 10:31), sitting in our house, or walking down the road (Deut. 6:6-9)? Do we praise him continually (Acts 2:46-47), for both the good and the bad (1Th. 5:18), because we trust Him so much (Rom. 8:28)? Do we so selflessly live that all our possessions are turned over to the Lord (Acts 2:44-46)?<\/p>\n
Because our pursuit is not just about our own future but the future of others. We have been commanded to multiply and fill the earth (Gen. 1:28), not with warm bodies, but obedient disciples (Mat. 28:19-20). For that definition, we must hear the hard words of Christ which demand absolute surrender and radical allegiance to Him alone (Luke 14:25-33). And we cannot multiply what we ourselves are not.<\/p>\n
So, let us consider His glory, and seek to become singularly-focused (Phil. 3:13) on building something great (Mat. 6:33)\u2014both within ourselves (Phil. 1:20), and in others (Phil. 1:9-11). Through it all, loving God with our entire being (Deut. 6:5), exalting Christ in both word and deed (Col 3:17), in order to lift Him high in exaltation (Ps. 68:4) so that He will draw people to Himself (John 12:32) and add to our number daily (Acts 2:47)\u2014not lukewarm converts (Rev. 3:16), but radical disciples given to a surrendered pursuit of Jesus Christ (Luk 9:24).<\/p>\n
No days off!<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":6200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25,4],"tags":[940,1243,1242,1244,1082,1241,211,1206,1205],"class_list":{"0":"post-6199","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boys-ministries","8":"category-discipleship-ministries","9":"tag-940","10":"tag-athletics","11":"tag-billy-neal","12":"tag-commitment","13":"tag-boys-ministries","14":"tag-no-days-off","15":"tag-passion","16":"tag-quarter-4","17":"tag-successful-in-witness","18":"entry"},"title_es":"Sin d\u00edas libres","content_es":"Mi hijo mayor es un entusiasta de los deportes, atl\u00e9ticamente talentoso y atra\u00eddo por cualquier cosa que se parezca a una pelota. Y en una familia que tiene muy poca experiencia o inter\u00e9s en los deportes organizados, \u00e9l es una prueba de que la crianza puede dirigir a un ni\u00f1o, pero es el Se\u00f1or quien lo form\u00f3 de manera \u00fanica en el \u00fatero. Uno de sus intereses recientes ha sido el programa de YouTube "No Days Off", una serie de documentales que destaca a los atletas j\u00f3venes que se est\u00e1n desempe\u00f1ando en niveles superiores a sus pares. El talento en bruto puede exhibirse en cada grado hasta cierto punto, pero es su nivel de compromiso con el deporte y su condici\u00f3n f\u00edsica lo que es impresionante. A los doce, diez u ocho a\u00f1os, estos ni\u00f1os practican todos los d\u00edas, entrenan f\u00edsicamente sus cuerpos para soportar los rigores del deporte e incluso reclutan entrenadores personales para ense\u00f1arles los detalles m\u00e1s finos y mantener su motivaci\u00f3n elevada. Y disfrutan cada minuto de su persecuci\u00f3n. \u00bfQu\u00e9 testimonio de otros atletas para intensificar su compromiso con su propio desarrollo atl\u00e9tico y elevar el nivel de su amor por su deporte? Quiz\u00e1s hay algo aqu\u00ed para el cristiano. Recuerdo la carta de Pablo a la iglesia de Corinto, donde compara al cristiano con el atleta.
\u201c\u00bfNo sabes que todos los corredores en un estadio compiten, pero solo uno recibe el premio? Entonces, corre para ganar. Cada competidor debe ejercer autocontrol en todo. Lo hacen para recibir una corona perecedera, pero nosotros una corona perecedera. \u201d<\/strong> - 1 Corintios 9: 24-25<\/strong> <\/blockquote> \u00bfY cu\u00e1l es nuestro premio? \u00bfEs para estirar nuestros cuerpos a nuevas alturas, hasta que la edad o la lesi\u00f3n finalmente arruinen lo que hemos trabajado tan duro para construir? \u00bfEs simplemente autoexaltaci\u00f3n, demostrando a las masas p\u00fablicas lo que podemos lograr personalmente, inmortalizando nuestras vidas en estad\u00edsticas sin sentido? \u00bfO es para llenar un estante con trofeos de pl\u00e1stico destinados al vertedero? \u00bfO es algo m\u00e1s significativo? No, buscamos un verdadero tesoro de valor incalculable (Mateo 13: 44-46). Jesucristo, en quien est\u00e1 la vida eterna (1 Jo. 5:11; Juan 6:47; Rom. 6:23). No solo una larga existencia sino una vida abundante (Juan 10:10). Porque \u00c9l es la sustancia de la vida (Juan 6:48), y conocerlo es la vida misma (Juan 17: 3). Es una recompensa tan gloriosa, que la muerte es ganancia (Fil. 1:21), e incluso los sufrimientos de esta vida no son comparables (Rom. 8:18) con la eternidad con \u00c9l. \u00bfPero nuestras vidas demuestran este valor? \u00bfO estos j\u00f3venes atletas est\u00e1n avergonzando nuestra pasi\u00f3n? \u00bfBuscamos la santidad (Hebreos 12:14), dedic\u00e1ndonos a la ense\u00f1anza y al compa\u00f1erismo de los ap\u00f3stoles (Hechos 2:42) para que podamos obedecer todo lo que Cristo nos ha mandado, por amor a \u00c9l (Juan 14:15; 1 Juan 5: 3)? \u00bfGlorificamos a Dios, incluso en los rituales m\u00e1s mundanos de la vida, ya sea comiendo o bebiendo (1 Cor. 10:31), sentado en nuestra casa o caminando por el camino (Deut. 6: 6-9)? \u00bfLo alabamos continuamente (Hechos 2: 46-47), tanto por lo bueno como por lo malo (1Th. 5:18), porque confiamos tanto en \u00c9l (Rom. 8:28)? \u00bfVivimos tan desinteresadamente que todas nuestras posesiones se entregan al Se\u00f1or (Hechos 2: 44-46)? Porque nuestra b\u00fasqueda no se trata solo de nuestro propio futuro sino del futuro de los dem\u00e1s. Se nos ha ordenado multiplicar y llenar la tierra (G\u00e9nesis 1:28), no con cuerpos c\u00e1lidos, sino disc\u00edpulos obedientes (Mateo 28: 19-20). Para esa definici\u00f3n, debemos escuchar las duras palabras de Cristo que exigen rendici\u00f3n absoluta y lealtad radical solo a \u00c9l (Lucas 14: 25-33). Y no podemos multiplicar lo que nosotros mismos no somos. Entonces, consideremos su gloria y busquemos centrarnos singularmente (Fil. 3:13) en construir algo grandioso (Mat. 6:33), tanto dentro de nosotros mismos (Fil. 1:20) como en los dem\u00e1s (Fil. 1: 9-11). A pesar de todo, amando a Dios con todo nuestro ser (Deut. 6: 5), exaltando a Cristo en palabra y obra (Col. 3:17), para elevarlo en exaltaci\u00f3n (Sal. 68: 4) para que \u00c9l atraer\u00e1 a la gente hacia S\u00ed mismo (Juan 12:32) y agregar\u00e1 a nuestro n\u00famero diariamente (Hechos 2:47), no conversos tibios (Apocalipsis 3:16), sino disc\u00edpulos radicales dados a una b\u00fasqueda rendida de Jesucristo (Lucas 9: 24) No hay d\u00edas libres!","author_name":"Billy Neal","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2020\/01\/BM-Q4.3-Article-Graphic-Neal.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4T9u2-1BZ","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6199"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6199\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iphc.org\/discipleship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}