Keep Your Eye on the Prize
And let us run with perseverance
the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and
perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning
its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2
NIV).
My twelve-year-old petite daughter Holly
was the gutsy goalie for her select soccer team. During one game, a player from
the other team had a break away and ran with the ball at my daughter full
speed. Holly ran out of the goalie box and threw herself on the ball just as
the girl pulled back her foot to boot the ball. The player from the other team,
not being able to stop in time, ran over the top of Holly using Holly’s leg as
a stepstool. Blue, black and red painted her leg as a nasty bruise the size of
a foot print formed.
It’s not human nature to throw
yourself into a crash. When something flies towards our eyes, we blink. When
someone sneezes near us, we turn the other way. When a car crosses the center line
on a highway, we slow down and move over. Protecting ourselves is how we stay
alive. It’s natural. It’s instinctive but it’s not always in line with God’s plan.
Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. (Luke 10:3 NIV) (I’m
not advocating dangerous living just dangerous loving.)
So how does a goalie, like my
daughter, intentionally throw herself into a collision?
By keeping her eye on the ball!
Likewise, we can throw ourselves
into situations God calls us into by keeping our eyes on Him. Paul says in 2
Timothy 4:7-8 says, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race,
I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that
day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
Paul, who was thrown into
imprisoned, beaten, and shipwrecked, wasn’t worried about the pain that might
come his way. He threw himself heartily into every situation God called him.
The more we try to protect
ourselves the more we can’t play the game of life. Imagine a bubble-wrapped
goalie trying to move fast enough to capture a ball. It’s not going to happen.
When I am hurt by friends I bubble
wrap myself in quietness, and distance. When
too many friends move away, when I know I’ll never see an aging friend again, I
momentarily want to remove myself from the pain of life. But God instructs us
to love, keep our eyes on the prize, and yes to take off the bubble wrap.
So just like my daughter dives for
a ball with little concern for her safety, we must throw ourselves into God’s
call of love with our eyes only on the prize.
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