September 19, 2016 - It's The Max I Could Do

Simple truth tonight about us as athletes, students, employees, etc. (And of course true of us in our walks with Christ)… When it all comes down to it, how good we are at things is directly linked to how committed we are to it.

When running camps I often have competitions that require the “losers” to do push-ups. Then I will whisper in the ear of somebody on the winning team that the “losers” are getting stronger while the “winners” are standing their gloating… And it doesn’t take long for the winners to start dropping and doing “want-to” push-ups, as opposed to “have-to” push-ups. I always loved the players that wanted to max out their potential…

Bottom line is that most of us are programmed to ask what is the minimum requirement for us to accomplish… we want to get by with as little as possible. But champions are those that give as much as possible toward their goals.

I won’t belabor the point… instead getting straight to the application as believers. I believe we spend far too much of our time focusing on what is our minimum requirements before the Lord (how much to give, how long to read, how often to attend church, etc.); and we are not focusing on what the Lord has for us each moment of each day in reaching others!

This popped in my mind again as a result of listening to my pastor in Alabama preaching on the importance of being a good neighbor… (I encourage each of you to go to discoverlifepoint.com to watch the messages in this series.) He brought up when Christ was being asked about the greatest commandments and He gave the classic “Love the Lord your God… and love your neighbor…” response; to which the question came “who is my neighbor?”

In other words, “Ok Coach, tell me exactly what is the minimum requirement.” It is almost as if the questioner wanted Jesus to tell him exactly how far one has to go to be reaching “neighbors.” And Jesus responded with the story of the “good Samaritan”… the one who saw someone else in need and showed mercy. So a “neighbor” in Jesus’ definition was anyone we come across that we can minister to!

I encourage you this week to intentionally look for opportunities to show mercy. Help meet people’s needs, even though it cost you time and maybe even money. (Read the story in Luke 10:25-37 and see that the Samaritan sacrificed to meet the need.)

Let’s stop thinking in terms of our minimum requirements but instead in being used to the max by the Lord! We should not live by “it’s the least I could do” but instead “it’s the max I could do!”

The motto of our missional group (The Arena) is “Today we L.I.V.E.!)

We strive to Love Intentionally and Value Everyone…