This past weekend my son's high school baseball team was playing in the State Tournament and I got to talk to the team before the game. As the players readied themselves to take the field, I reminded them of the bigger picture. Regardless of the final score, they had the ability to glorify God through playing baseball. They came up a run short in the top of the 7th inning; however, the way they fought until the end and played with class accomplished glorifying God through their actions on and off the field.
"We are pieces of art, designed to be beautiful and thus draw attention to our artist. When we live to glorify God, we step into the only true humanizing way of living. We function properly, like a car running on gasoline rather than orange juice." (Gentle and Lowly by Dane Ortlund)
Earlier this morning I headed west of Winston-Salem to an organic strawberry farm to help a new friend fulfill a 400 pound order of fresh strawberries. I was instructed on how to pick before getting started and for the next 2+ hours I did my best to follow the instructions. If the berries were white, they needed to be left to ripen. If they were too ripe, they should be left for the u-pickers that would consume them faster. So I picked and picked eight buckets totaling 32 lbs. of perfect strawberries. You see, someone had to sort them for quality control before packaging them for shipment. I could have grabbed any strawberry and took shortcuts to filling my buckets but I was reminded of a quote that has always stuck with me. "Be the one who works hard because God sees your heart."
Are you being the one who works hard because God sees your heart? That quote has always motivated me to give my best regardless of the outcome because I serve at the pleasure of the King.
"All things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart." (2 Cor. 4:15-16)
Have a great evening!
-Miguel R. Viera
Executive Director at Family Ministries of America
Visit familyministriesofamerica.com to see how communities are being impacted for Christ. If you, your church, school or company are interested in getting involved in community outreach, let's talk about ministry opportunities in your area.
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