Scoring

Against better judgment and much advice, I occasionally show up to play basketball early in the mornings. Several guys play here at 5:30 a.m. Of course we sleep walk for the first 15 minutes, then play for another 45. It has been my unhappy privilege on some occasions to guard Carl Bradshaw. Now he’s a lot younger than me, but that’s not the reason he can score on me at will. Ok, that does have something to do with it, but it’s more than that.

I don’t know how to describe it to you, but he’s in a different “basketball universe” than I am. In fact, he’s in a different world from several of us. He sees things that I don’t see. He’s jogging down the court while me and others are sprinting. He’s passing when everyone else shoots. He seems almost disinterested, until . . . until he sees a strategic opening in the defense, then I turn around and he’s gone. He makes this really great play and I’m left looking inept. I don’t know how to figure it out! It’s like Coach Krscevski is in side his head telling him what to do. He’s not wasting energy. He’s not whining about not getting the ball, but when the opportunity comes, let me tell you what he’s all about: He’s about SCORING!

That’s the way it ought to be with us as believers. We don’t get all caught up in the details of life because we’re strategic. We don’t let the annoyances of living rob our joy because our focus is on one thing: SCORING. Through the energy and power of the Holy Spirit, we are all about reproducing the image of Christ in just as many people as we can, and we’ll do that if we push a mop bucket, or sit in the CEO’s chair. We are all about making God’s purpose paramount, our change strategic, and God’s ownership authentic in our lives.