head butt
I'm not really a boxing fan but I'm a sucker for an underdog. I have watched Ray Leonards' and Sylvester Stallones' "The Contender" twice. I must say that one of those episodes really moved me.
One young man was considered to be lack luster and not really a top boxer. As his fellow boxer put it"he has never stepped up ". I took this to mean that it had never been apparent that he showed that he was giving his all.
This young man was pitted against another boxer who was considered superior . In the first round the underdog looked intimidated. Between rounds his corner man was yelling something like "this is it !you can do this !give 'em everything you got. YOU CAN DO THIS !. He never said that he could win just that he could do it.
Things changed in that second round. The underdog was confident, his effort was apparent and the crowd cheered as he bested his superior opponent. Tears flowed out of eyes as watched this young man seem to do the impossible.
In the exchange of blows the superior boxer accidentally delivered a head butt to the underdog that would subsequently stop the fight and give the victory to the favorite.
In that loss there was victory. The boxer who had made the prior comment said "He finally stepped up". But he lost and had to go home.
It's a hard thing to give your all. The loss might even seem greater because of the apparent effort given. But is it ?Isn't it a greater loss not to really tried . How many of us (I'm really writing to me now) hold back just a little for some strange reason.
What I saw from that young boxer was the RECKLESS ABANDON that I want to live for Jesus Christ and His church. Sometimes we'll catch a head butt that issues a loss for that particular fight. But lucky for us God's grace issues victory when the world judges us losers.
Why don't we "Step up" , "Go big or go home ", have "reckless abandon" or what ever phrase you want to put to giving every drop of yourself. Because ,emptying yourself like that is ultimate vulnerability. What if you give your self like that and you still fail?It's as if holding back is saving some part of ourselves. And that's exactly what we are not supposed to do ! We're supposed to give it all for Jesus.
Some part of us would love to able to give that kind of self emptying effort but are afraid .What would we do with the empty container. We can't do anything with it but God promises to fill us up.
Let's all let Him fill us.
Step Up!
One young man was considered to be lack luster and not really a top boxer. As his fellow boxer put it"he has never stepped up ". I took this to mean that it had never been apparent that he showed that he was giving his all.
This young man was pitted against another boxer who was considered superior . In the first round the underdog looked intimidated. Between rounds his corner man was yelling something like "this is it !you can do this !give 'em everything you got. YOU CAN DO THIS !. He never said that he could win just that he could do it.
Things changed in that second round. The underdog was confident, his effort was apparent and the crowd cheered as he bested his superior opponent. Tears flowed out of eyes as watched this young man seem to do the impossible.
In the exchange of blows the superior boxer accidentally delivered a head butt to the underdog that would subsequently stop the fight and give the victory to the favorite.
In that loss there was victory. The boxer who had made the prior comment said "He finally stepped up". But he lost and had to go home.
It's a hard thing to give your all. The loss might even seem greater because of the apparent effort given. But is it ?Isn't it a greater loss not to really tried . How many of us (I'm really writing to me now) hold back just a little for some strange reason.
What I saw from that young boxer was the RECKLESS ABANDON that I want to live for Jesus Christ and His church. Sometimes we'll catch a head butt that issues a loss for that particular fight. But lucky for us God's grace issues victory when the world judges us losers.
Why don't we "Step up" , "Go big or go home ", have "reckless abandon" or what ever phrase you want to put to giving every drop of yourself. Because ,emptying yourself like that is ultimate vulnerability. What if you give your self like that and you still fail?It's as if holding back is saving some part of ourselves. And that's exactly what we are not supposed to do ! We're supposed to give it all for Jesus.
Some part of us would love to able to give that kind of self emptying effort but are afraid .What would we do with the empty container. We can't do anything with it but God promises to fill us up.
Let's all let Him fill us.
Step Up!
posted by Father Rich at 10:19 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home