Growing up, I loved collecting sports cards. I had a collection that included football, basketball, and baseball cards. All of them organized by sport and then by team. Each card slid into a sleeve that held nine cards and then put in a binder. I remember the excitement of getting my favorite player’s card or trying to decide which cards I could trade with my friend to get the card I really wanted. A little while back, my parents brought my card collection to me and my boys enjoyed looking through it and now they’ve picked up this hobby as well. Probably not to the same level as me, but they enjoy it.
My youngest recently bought a new box of basketball cards with some of his birthday money, and of course he had to open them as soon as we got into the car. So as we drove, I listened as he would get excited about certain players as he opened them. Later, when we got home, I saw his new stack of cards sitting on the counter, so I decided to look through them. This has always been the case, but out of a box of 58 cards, maybe 15-20 of the cards were players that the average NBA fan would recognize. The rest of the cards were backups and role players that see very little playing time. As a customer, that’s not a very good return on investment. But as I was looking through the cards, I considered the fact that these are real people, that are actually playing in the NBA. While we may be disappointed that we didn’t get more cards with players that we knew, these guys were just thrilled to be on the team and on a trading card. Perspective matters.
In our spiritual lives, we fall into the same trap. We can be guilty of comparing ourselves to other people or trying to earn some “spiritual ranking” in life. But we just simply need to be happy that we’re on the team. In Luke 10, Jesus sends out the disciples on a mission and as they return, they are excited about all that they have done saying to Jesus that “even the demons are subject to us in your name.” But Jesus responds to them, “I have given you authority…over all the power of the enemy…Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” In other words, “I saved you and gave you what you needed to succeed.”
We shouldn’t find our value in what we’ve done but in the fact that we’ve been saved. It’s all grace. Anything we do in service to Him is enabled by Him. Our very salvation was initiated and carried out by Him. So, we should just rejoice in the fact that we’re on the team, because it was given to us by grace. And we should do our best to serve Him when we’re given the opportunity, because in His grace, He will give us what we need to succeed. Don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t try to earn “spiritual points”. Just be faithful with what God has given you and rejoice in your salvation.
-Kendall Harris
My youngest recently bought a new box of basketball cards with some of his birthday money, and of course he had to open them as soon as we got into the car. So as we drove, I listened as he would get excited about certain players as he opened them. Later, when we got home, I saw his new stack of cards sitting on the counter, so I decided to look through them. This has always been the case, but out of a box of 58 cards, maybe 15-20 of the cards were players that the average NBA fan would recognize. The rest of the cards were backups and role players that see very little playing time. As a customer, that’s not a very good return on investment. But as I was looking through the cards, I considered the fact that these are real people, that are actually playing in the NBA. While we may be disappointed that we didn’t get more cards with players that we knew, these guys were just thrilled to be on the team and on a trading card. Perspective matters.
In our spiritual lives, we fall into the same trap. We can be guilty of comparing ourselves to other people or trying to earn some “spiritual ranking” in life. But we just simply need to be happy that we’re on the team. In Luke 10, Jesus sends out the disciples on a mission and as they return, they are excited about all that they have done saying to Jesus that “even the demons are subject to us in your name.” But Jesus responds to them, “I have given you authority…over all the power of the enemy…Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” In other words, “I saved you and gave you what you needed to succeed.”
We shouldn’t find our value in what we’ve done but in the fact that we’ve been saved. It’s all grace. Anything we do in service to Him is enabled by Him. Our very salvation was initiated and carried out by Him. So, we should just rejoice in the fact that we’re on the team, because it was given to us by grace. And we should do our best to serve Him when we’re given the opportunity, because in His grace, He will give us what we need to succeed. Don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t try to earn “spiritual points”. Just be faithful with what God has given you and rejoice in your salvation.
-Kendall Harris
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