He ate dinner with us tonight, this 21 year old. He raved over Kim’s roast beef, laughed at Levi’s jokes, downed some ice cream and brownies with Lilly, and patiently listened to Sadie and Annabelle’s chatter. I’m sure that our conversation is one that he’s had thousands of times, but he gave no indication that he was tired of answering the same questions.
He’s got the world at his fingertips–he’s incredibly bright, talented, and educated; he’s got size, speed, and agility–the kind that makes NFL scouts take notes and make phone calls; he’s charming, witty, and classy…He’s pretty much got it all. Huge upside. Killer potential. Brains and brawn.
But in the middle of our conversation, he dropped this line on me:
Compared to following Jesus, football is boring.
This comes from a guy who has been on the field for some of the biggest games in recent history around here. These are the words of a man who is pretty much a lock for a future in the NFL. The world is full of people who would trade a sibling to be in his size 15 shoes.
Following Jesus=Life
Football=Boring
It made me think about the passage from today’s LifeJournal (Luke 18) where Jesus is talking to the rich religious man who wanted to know what he should do to inherit eternal life. This guy had carefully obeyed all the commandments since he was young (or so he said!). Jesus let him ramble on, then spoke these words:
There is still one thing you haven’t done. Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.
I hear lots of people talking about how difficult it is to follow Jesus. From teenagers to old(er) folks, it’s a pretty common thought. But my young friend nailed it tonight.
Jesus is after our heart–and yours. Once he has my heart, it’s difficult to do anything besides follow him…
Easy? No way. It’s full of complications and temptations and difficult choices. But the way gets a whole lot clearer when Jesus has my heart.
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