Put Me In, I'm Ready!

1 Peter 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

One of the things that I love the most about being a Pastor is my fellowship with the children. I love them and love being around them. Whether at church or at my house, we always have a great time. My favorite thing about them is their desire for conversation. Many times I don't have to say a word, or maybe it's that I can't get a word in, I'm not sure.

One of my favorite conversations recently was with my nine year old buddy. We were watching a basketball game and he began to be pumped up. He said, "If I was down there, and the coach put me in, I would be scoring on them all day!" Then he said it, the funniest thing I've heard in a while. He said, "I've been playing Dude Perfect on my tablet and I've got some mad skills now". I didn't laugh out loud but I wanted to. He thought because he was awesome with his jump shot on a game that it obviously had to pass unto his natural abilities on the court, right?

Isn't that the way the mind of a child is? Well just like the thinking of my friend, Christians have somehow thought that their presence and practice of church attendance will in some way give them the only skills they need on the court. Coming to church is right. It is holy! But just attending church out of habit or going through the emotions will never give you the skills you need. No, you must pray, worship, read and put into practice the things you do read in order to have the skills on the court. Just like a pattern of thumb and finger moves on a tablet will not help on the court, neither will a series of Sunday morning attendances, because it's just the thing to do, will help you in this world.

Are you asking God to put you in and you aren't even ready? Are you holding on to your Dude Perfect or Christian Perfect skills to get the job done on the court? Practice! That is what Christians need today, practice! Practice in prayer, practice in studying the Word, and definitely practice in worshiping Him with the local body.

Lastly, my little buddy wasn't wrong for his excitement about the game and wanting to be on the court, but if we would have put him in he would have been left behind by the others because they were ready and conditioned to play basketball. What about you?