Caleb plays soccer for a travel team based out of Stevensville. He is on the U14 team called SWM Elite. Since we have moved here, two years ago in August, we have seen quite a bit of the state of Michigan thanks to travel soccer. A few times during these last couple of years we have gotten lost trying to get to some of the games. Last session I decided I was tired of getting lost and I volunteered to get directions for our team and their parents for the out of town games. (The one person on the team who has lived in Michigan the least amount of time! Wanna' follow me?) As it turns out I am in charge once again of getting and giving directions. (Nobody got lost last session!)
Finding these soccer fields are sometimes like finding a needle in a haystack. I usually begin by finding the address and then from there I check several different sources for directions and try to give the ones that are agreed upon by at least two sources, if not more. Yesterday we had our first game of the season and it happened to be an away game. I find myself very nervous until every player and their family show up at the field. Everybody made it fine, the boys played great, and we won our game.
The game was in Muskegon so I had about and hour and forty-five minutes to think as we made our way home. And, as I thought about our next away game I began to think about the enormous responsibility of people following me. If one turn is off, if one highway written down incorrectly, if one mile-marker off even by one, someone could get lost. Then I got to thinking about the same responsibility that we have as Christians. Jesus Christ said in Mark 8:34 (Which Chris Spitters preached on this morning at First Church) "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." And in Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus commissions us to "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." The connection between these two verses becomes clear when you read what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:1, "Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ." So, if we put the "whole" of the word of God together the lesson we see here is that following Christ means that we are now to make disciples in essence asking them to follow us as we follow Christ.
Now, you have to be careful with this whole line of thinking because at the end of the day we are all fallible human beings that need a Savior. WE ARE NOT THE SAVIOR...CHRIST IS! When we live our lives in front of others we are giving them good directions or bad directions. We are giving them a correct picture of what it means to follow Christ or we are "getting them lost" even further. We really do have a great responsibility as Christ followers to lead by example, to make sure we are giving good directions, to double check the way we are living our lives everyday.
After we left that soccer game and I really got to thinking about this...I did a quick gut check to see if I am giving good directions to the Lord. And, I can honestly say I need some work! I think we could all say that we make mistakes, that we say things we shouldn't say, that we still have some growing to do. I guess I just want to do my best to make corrections in the directions I am sharing so that I never get anyone so lost they cannot find their way back. We must love like Christ, think like Christ, speak like Christ....just BE like Christ.
As this week begins take an honest look at the "directions" you are giving to others as a Christ follower. Make some adjustments if you need to. And, if you think you are off and you need some help with your directions...ask for help. Go to His word (The best roadmap to life there is!), Go to a friend that you respect, and/or get on your knees and go straight to the throne room in prayer. Whatever the case I pray that you will become a confident "direction-giver" as you follow the One who never gets lost...JESUS!
Posted on
Sun, April 19, 2009
by Crystal Colp