Give of your best to the Master

“And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.” Colossians 3:23-24

Marvin Olasky writes (I have added a few flourishes) about attending an exciting professional baseball game in which the two sides traded runs and were neck and neck throughout the game. The ninth inning opened with the game all square. The visitors scored one run in the top of the ninth, but the crowd remained confident as the home team had two men on base with only one out. Then it was two out and the tension increased, but the last man up was their big hitter. Although the stats listed him as 250 lbs, Olasky figured he was well over that and looked out of shape. His misgivings turned into reality as the big man's swing was way behind the fast ball and then missed the slider by a mile. The sparkle of the crowd faded like a glass of uncovered sod-pop as the inevitable happened a couple of pitches later. Swinging late the sluggish slugger popped a wicked curve ball to midfield to the collective groan of twenty thousand disappointed fans.

The moral of the story? While no one expects even the very best players to hit every time, anyone who receives ten thousand dollars a game ought (at least) to be in the best physical and mental condition possible and give 100% to the goal – winning!

There is a spiritual equivalent to this story. As Christians we have received something far more valuable than money or fame, we have the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life. Given this fact, each one of us should be in the best spiritual condition (and why not physical condition as well?) that we can be, and be dedicated to the goal of advancing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Writing to the church at Philippi Paul said: I press toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus, and to the church at Corinth: Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever, and to Timothy: ...exercise yourself toward godliness. For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things

Like even the very best baseball players, we will not bat one thousand. We will miss some fast ball opportunities to share the good news. The need to pray for or help a fellow Christian will slide by unnoticed. The enemy will throw some nasty inning ending curve balls our way and that opportunity will be over – but not the game. The writer of Hebrews employes a similar athletic theme by describing the great cloud of witnesses that surround us as we run the race of faith all the way to the end. Let us not disappoint them. Let us be sure to be in the best spiritual (and yes, physical) condition we can be in. Let us exercise our gifts and hone them to perfection so that when it is our turn at bat we will give it our best shot. When we do we can be sure that the Lord will be pleased: And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive an inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ (Col. 3:23-24).

Give of your best to the Master, give Him first place in your heart, give Him first place in your service, consecrate every part. (Howard Benjamin Grose; cf. #450 in the church hymnal)

For the Kingdom,
Pastor Ron Bridge