March 28, 2011 - Captive to a Commitment!

Sitting in the gym early Monday morning, listening to the rain on the roof and the sound of the basketball on the hardwood…

We (Clay and I) have been here for a half-an-hour and have another half-an-hour to go before we report for the school day. I must admit that when the alarm went off this morning and I thought about the extra hour I could have of sleep it was a struggle to plod down the stairs and wake Clay. Yet here we are…captive to a commitment!

Recently some good friends of mine blessed us greatly. Their names are Jason and Christy Otter. They run Otter’s School of Basketball and Jason is the best clinician I have ever witnessed. Don’t get me wrong, I have seen a lot of tremendous ball handling and shooting instructors through the years, yet Jason has that special ability to not only give the best technical advice but also the best motivational push to players.

They have blessed us by sacrificing extra time, energy, and effort to pour into Clay as a player and a young man. Clay not only participates in Jason’s clinics but has now received a personal workout agenda from Jason to help Clay become the best player he can be. With what is listed out via the computer screen, Clay is very clear on what the objective is from Jason. Yet the key is not just the objective but the “commissioning.”

Jason and Christy have sacrificed for Clay; therefore their words carry a lot of weight. Clay’s “commitment” is simply a logical response to agree to the “mission” of the “commissioning.” And I love it when Clay or I receive an email or text from the Otters simply encouraging and reminding Clay that he “better be working” and that it will make him the best he can be! That creates an accountability to stay the course…

Do you see where I am going with this? Christ has sacrificed for us! He gave His life for us! He has “commissioned” us to a specific job of being His “ambassadors – ministers of reconciliation.” (See 2 Corinthians 5:16-21)

If you have put your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ for your salvation, then you are officially a “mission”-ary: a person called to “commit” to the great com-“mission” to share the Gospel with a lost and dying world!

I know you all know what the “mission” is; now it is time to execute it! It is time to be “Captive to a Commitment!”