| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net Remember when we were kids, and were left to our own devices within the realm of entertaining ourselves? This usually took place outside; (“don’t come back in till I tell say you can”), and most often involved some recognized sporting event. The two most athletically gifted kids were given the task of choosing teams. This had the potential of being a great time, or one of endless embarrassment. You probably fell into one of these categories. You may have been the Captain, which gave you the ability to exalt or humiliate friends. You may have been one of the first ones chosen, which made the walk from the line to your team a thing of beauty; head held high, strolling, cool. You may have been one of the last ones chosen, or (P-l-l-ease No), the very last. What do all these (except the captain) have in common? They all DESIRED to be picked. They all DESIRED to be picked early. Yet, and this amazes me, there was always someone who longed to be on the team, and after getting there, prayed in their heart of hearts, that they wouldn’t be put in the game. My dad ran hounds all the years of my youth, and he had an expression for a certain type of dog. Usually it was a pup, but didn’t have to be. This one ran with the pack, Clueless. Didn’t know why, didn’t know what, didn’t know where. Just ran along barking. Dad called these “Me Too Dogs”. Now let’s turn the Spiritual Switch. Most of us, (the overwhelming majority), long to be, or think we are Christians. A lot of us aren’t. We are “Me Too Dogs”. More disturbing to me though, are those of us who are on the team, and pray we won’t be put in the game. Our Captain has paid an Incredible price to get us here, and we think we can coast to the post-season, trusting in the Works of the rest of our team. He has bought us, trained us, encouraged us, and yes, even paid us in advance, and yet we want to ride the bench “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” - 1st Peter 4:10. “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” - Hebrews 12:1. Does the world know you as a (Player), or are you a (Me Too)? God bless. |
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