If I asked a crowd of sports fans to name the two most prominent Christian athletes of our day, it wouldn’t astonish anyone if they surmised the same two names:
Athlete One was born to missionary parents active in the field. At a young age, he was taught the benefit of deep Christian values and homeschooled with his four siblings. His home state had previously passed legislation that allowed homeschooled children to participate in local high school athletics, so the family moved to a district with a pass-oriented offense to demonstrate his skills as a quarterback. After twice being named state player of the year, Athlete One attended his parents’ alma mater, winning two national championships and the Heisman trophy. Drafted in the first round of the NFL draft, he led his team to the playoffs in his first year as the primary starter. Athlete One is visibly noted for his charity work, vocal demonstration of his faith, and his decision to remain a virgin until marriage.
Athlete Two was born to former athletes; by the age of four his father had laid out a plan to make him a professional athlete. Spending his childhood honing his baseball ability with his dad and older brother, he was quickly asked to participate with older kids in Little League due to his advanced skills. Earning a reputation among scouts as a humble, All-American country boy, Athlete Two led his high school to the state finals as a pitcher and hitter. He was drafted first overall the following year; his parents decided to quit their jobs and travel with him in the minor leagues so that his mom could cook for him and his dad could discuss his performance. Following a car accident that forced his parents to recuperate at home, Athlete Two wrestled with injuries on the field. On his own for the first time, he made new friends and developed addictions to alcohol, cocaine, and meth. After numerous attempts at rehab, he was suspended from baseball. By the grace of God, he reconnected with the father of a high school acquaintance that shared the gospel of Jesus. Athlete Two continued to suffer a series of relapses, but eventually found freedom from the drugs and married his high school friend. Having been away from the game for three years, a team took a chance on him; he has since led another team to a pair of league championships and earned MVP honors. As an alcoholic, Athlete Two has publicly addressed his shortcomings and inability to drink in moderation. He admits that aside from a transformational work of Christ, he would never have the strength to sustain himself.
Taking nothing away from Tim Tebow, were I granted the opportunity to shoot the breeze about Jesus with either man, I would choose Josh Hamilton every time.
"It’s my privilege to tell my story. I never get tired of telling it. I know how fortunate I am.
"… There is no reason why I shouldn’t be dead or crippled."
-- Josh Hamilton
There’s just something about grace.
The nature of their struggles is irrelevant. Actually, my life bears closer resemblance to Tebow’s than it ever will to Hamilton’s. From a protective home to a faith-nurturing college, I entered my twenties as a vocal, charitable, virginal leader. While I cannot identify with the limelight and temptation that must follow Tebow at every corner, I could have made any of these boasts apart from Christ. I’m sure that I did.
What draws me closer to Hamilton is not the body of his story, but his conclusion. Regardless of how the enemy might attempt to discredit our testimonies, Hamilton’s story is not
stronger because he indulged in drugs, sex, and tattoos. These are merely the facilities God used to bring him to a righteous conclusion. Through a smaller stage and a milder set of circumstances, He revealed to me the same truth:
“There is no reason why I shouldn’t be dead.”
This is the foundational piece of grace I think most Christians miss -- at the very least we fail to communicate it, and I can‘t imagine
knowing it and not wanting to share.
I presume that the motivation of Tebow’s heart is to reveal the character of God through his actions and the stage he’s been allowed. If so, he’s done a fantastic job. This sort of diligence speaks volumes to complacent believers that aren’t making Christ central in their lives. Tebow is quick to give God glory for what he has received and considers football his open door to minister. The only thing missing from Tebow’s presentation is a recognition that it’s ALL grace. His supportive family: grace. His freak-athletic ability: grace. The privilege to share in Christ’s name: grace. Tebow shares enough about the value of hard work that I wonder if he’s acknowledged that there’s
no reason he shouldn’t be dead aside from the heart-wrenching intervention of his loving Father. He may have, but he doesn‘t seem like the type to recognize his depravity and remain silent; he‘s plenty vocal about his faith. But the lost desperately need this single confession. It is the Gospel that saves.
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GIFT(S) #2 PROPHET / MERCY -- Compassion vs. apathy
Like many young leaders, I was exposed to the mother lode of personality profiles in my late teens and twenties. Our camp director loved Florence Littauer’s work on
temperaments, thus I was subject to assessment branding by the tender age of 16. I decided to pick up a copy of her book in college, wherein she describes my results as a “mask for survival.” Not only was I personally dealing with the most emotional blend of personalities, but I was sent on a witch hunt to discover what was
wrong with it. The enemy didn’t miss the opportunity.
During my graduate work, an otherwise amazing adjunct professor had us take a Myers-Briggs assessment. My extrovert/introvert line again teetered close to center, coupled by the emotionally driven intuitive/feeler/perceiver. The secular world at least had the decency to accept my results as “unique, but normal.” Regardless, I coveted a greater understanding of what might cause my social demeanor to switch without warning.
[During my most recent job interview, I found it comical that the employer was similarly bewildered by my introvert / extrovert results. It's the first time I've ever filled out a profile for a non-ministry position, and the first time I've ever left a non-ministry interview without a job. Coincidence? When we place too much credence in "fitting," the abnormalities present an administrative difficulty.]
However, it was my experience with spiritual gift inventories that stood most prone to confirmation bias; I quickly learned what would be revealed through honest answers. It was in good humor that other prophets made lighthearted jokes about those bearing the burdens of the mercy-giver, and I didn’t have any documented explanation (spiritual or scientific) as to why I should identify with both. It was much easier to hide the fragile (weaker?) gift.
In my study this week, I considered the seemingly oppositional nature of my "motivational" gifts (Romans 12:6-8). What I found should not be particularly earth-shattering in light of Christ's teachings:
As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew, sitting in the tax collector's booth; and He said to him, "Follow Me!" And he got up and followed Him.
Then it happened that as Jesus was reclining at the table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were dining with Jesus and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why is your Teacher eating with the tax collectors and sinners?" But when Jesus heard this, He said, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire compassion, and not sacrifice,' for I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matt. 9:9-13)
In verse 13, Christ quotes Hosea 6. Perhaps a small connection, but my heart immediately stirred. His words in Hosea have always felt closest to how I've known God to reveal Himself
when I'm walking in the Spirit. One part terror, one part compassion: it is His romantic pursuit that allows me to feel something other than crazy, as if He stitched me this way for a reason.
What I must explore are the particular attitudes of His people that provoked particular responses from our Father:
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O Judah?
For your loyalty is like a morning cloud
And like the dew which goes away early.
Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets;
I have slain them by the words of My mouth;
And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. (6:4-5)
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away,
I will carry away, and there will be none to deliver.
I will go away and return to My place
Until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me. (5:14-15)
When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son.
The more they called them,
The more they went from them;
They kept sacrificing to the Baals
And burning incense to idols.
Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them in My arms;
But they did not know that I healed them.
I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love,
And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;
And I bent down and fed them.
They will not return to the land of Egypt;
But Assyria—he will be their king
Because they refused to return to Me.
The sword will whirl against their cities,
And will demolish their gate bars
And consume them because of their counsels.
So My people are bent on turning from Me.
Though they call them to the One on high,
None at all exalts Him.
How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart is turned over within Me,
All My compassions are kindled.
I will not execute My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim again.
For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in wrath.
They will walk after the Lord,
He will roar like a lion;
Indeed He will roar
And His sons will come trembling from the west.
They will come trembling like birds from Egypt
And like doves from the land of Assyria;
And I will settle them in their houses, declares the Lord. (11:1-11)
Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
Take words with you and return to the Lord.
Say to Him, “ Take away all iniquity
And receive us graciously,
That we may present the fruit of our lips.
“Assyria will not save us,
We will not ride on horses;
Nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’
To the work of our hands;
For in You the orphan finds mercy.”
I will heal their apostasy,
I will love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from them.
I will be like the dew to Israel;
He will blossom like the lily,
And he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
His shoots will sprout,
And his beauty will be like the olive tree
And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.
Those who live in his shadow
Will again raise grain,
And they will blossom like the vine.
His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon. (14:1-7)
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
Bring her into the wilderness
And speak kindly to her.
“Then I will give her her vineyards from there,
And the valley of Achor as a door of hope.
And she will sing there as in the days of her youth,
As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
"It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord,
“That you will call Me Ishi
And will no longer call Me Baali.
"For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,
So that they will be mentioned by their names no more.
“In that day I will also make a covenant for them
With the beasts of the field,
The birds of the sky
And the creeping things of the ground.
And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land,
And will make them lie down in safety.
“I will betroth you to Me forever;
Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice,
In lovingkindness and in compassion,
And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness.
Then you will know the Lord." (2:14-20)
Whereas my heart is drawn to righteous anger at the sight of proud idolatry, it is equally aroused with compassion in the presence of the brokenhearted. For the longest time, my least favorite setting was among a church body because I was placed in position to speak judgment or hold my tongue. Seemingly, I had to choose between burning bridges and disobedience. When I read His word, I'm reminded that
discomfort is a small price for righteousness, and it is nearly always a necessary precursor for compassion.
Among the brokenhearted, my heart is easily driven towards mercy. This doesn't mean that Truth and rebuke are unnecessary, but the broken are keenly aware of their need for healing. The doctor doesn't need to convince the terminally ill that measures are necessary for survival. They understand the alternative is death; aside from the hands of Something infinitely greater, they are left to the curse of their deeds.
What we ignore in our flesh is His message of healing. We act as doctors among doctors, spending our days in a common office to verify our own health. Outside these walls lie the sick, but despite our extensive education, we fear contagion more than we desire compassion. My frustrated response is apathy -- if the healthy are nothing more than collectors of unless vials, my correction does little more than harden hearts. They believe their reward is deserved and arrogantly praise God for protecting them from infection. They fail to recognize they were already born with a fatal condition and a willing Antidote.
Though I'm inclined to give up, how dare I turn away? How do I disregard His bride as if we haven't made covenant? Indeed, I cannot. I must chase and ravage in hope for her purity. In my firmness I pray for her to come
undone, that she might acknowledge her nakedness and blindness and come to be healed. For in her shame I am predisposed to wrap her in my arms and call her mine. This body of the redeemed will shine His glory among the lost like scorching embers. His compassion cannot be resisted.
