Monday, January 31, 2005
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
OUR DIVINE MANAGER
The manager of a certain major league team had a rule that no one could steal a base unless given the steal sign. One of the star players on the team felt he could judge for himself when it was a good time to steal, so one game he decided to steal without a sign. After getting on first base he easily stole second. As he shook the dirt off his uniform, he smiled smugly feeling that he had shown his manager a thing or two. But later the manager took the player aside and explained why he hadn't given the steal sign. First, the next batter was his best power hitter. When the player stole second that left first base open, so the other team walked the power hitter intentionally, taking the bat out of the home run hitter's hands. Second, the following batter hadn't been strong against that pitcher, so the manger had to send up a pitch hitter to drive in the men on base. This left the team short of bench strength for later on in the game when they really needed it. The player who stole second thought he knew best, but he ended up costing his team the game. He was a star player, but his pride made him a liability to the team. It turned out the manager understood much better what moves to make in order to give his team the best chance to win.
Do you want to be a team player? Do you want to be a person God can put to good use in His kingdom? That can only happen if we are willing to bow before God's will in all things, trusting that our Father knows best and carefully listening to the signals he gives us from His Word -- and that can only happen when the Spirit causes us to bow our heads before the cross. At the cross we are washed of the sins of pride and selfishness. At the cross we are empowered to crucify our own self-will so that it is synchronized with that of our Savior God! So God's will and our will beat as one.
Jesus set aside any thought for Himself to make sure your sin debt was canceled once and for all -- to make sure you could have eternal life. Can your grateful response be anything less than a life lived for Him! In thankfulness, will you not follow the game plan he has laid out for your life in the Bible? May the Lord melt your heart and mine with Jesus' love, moving us to be His glad and useful servants! AMEN! 