Can you remember a time when you were a kid, perhaps biding your time on the sideline, thinking, Put me in, Coach. I'll show you what I can do! Or perhaps witnessing an older sibling or neighbor have his/her "moment in the sun" and telling yourself, Wait until I grow up and get MY chance!
Well, you have it. Right now. Right where you are standing.
So how are you doing, now that you finally have your shot?
In the game of life, each one of us -- one way or another -- has been given a short opportunity to get on out there and make a difference -- to serve the needs of the greater team. No doubt you are willing to serve. But as the above passage implores, are you eager to serve? Do you possess that same ardent desire to get on the field and make a difference that you once did as a kid? Because now, your efforts don't just potentially influence the outcome of a contest, they may change the course of a life -- or twenty -- including yours!
Now granted, it's easy for initial enthusiasm to wane. Matters become routine. Your particular role in this world might not match the grandiose hopes you once held for myself. Or perhaps it seems that your personal contributions somehow get lost -- unrecognized even -- amid all that is going on. Regardless, the eagerness we once possessed can easily go adrift, particularly if our revery focuses on our "personal gain."
So this passage reminds us to instead concentrate "on the flock under our care." Despite how large or small, how visible or invisible we might see our role, the Creator of All That Is has placed us just where we are at precisely this point in time to positively influence those with whom we daily interact and even those about whom we may not even be aware. Yet we know through faith that our service is an integral part of the Master Game Plan, and that is an amazing thought to reflect and dwell upon indeed! And the Coach of All is calling your name right now to get on out there, to play out your role on the team and tend to His flock. So be enthusiastic and eager in your service, because you are part of something much bigger than any one of us could ever hope to accomplish alone. Bloom where you are planted.
Finally, while we should seek to continuously renew the eagerness of the inner child in each of us, we should pair that enthusiasm with the understanding of an adult -- the right understanding -- that none of this is about us or our personal glory anyway. All glory is His. All greatness is His. Simply expressed, our job is not to be great, but simply to be faithful. . . to serve Him and His children "under our care" . . . to be the ultimate team player. To this end, we might want to channel Mother Teresa, who reminds us of the right heart and mindset to daily bring forward in this regard: "We can do no great things," she says, "only small things with great love."
Now get on out there, while the clock's still ticking!
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Dear Lord,
Thank you for the opportunity to serve Your people, to faithfully tend to the needs of the portion of Your flock that You have assigned to me. I ask that You daily renew in me not just the willingness to serve, but also the eagerness to serve so that Your will be done and so that all my days may be filled with joy and impact until that one day when You call me home and we eternally celebrate the Victory that is already won.
In Your Name, I pray.
Amen.
