Pass with a Purpose

Back when I was a soccer coach, I used to tell my players to "Pass with a Purpose!!"

• Know WHAT you expect to be done with that pass.
• Knowing what YOU think should happen next will dictate HOW to make the pass.  KNOW what you expect.  It helps answer all the other questions!
  
• Know WHO you are passing to. 
• You have 10 team mates to choose from, pass the ball to ONE of them.
• Know WHY you are passing to that person.  
• Is the pass going to start an attack?  Or a retreat?  Are we changing the point of attack?  Or are we relieving pressure?  Or maybe we need to be killing time?
• Know WHERE you are passing.
• If the recipient is moving, you must pass into their line of movement or they will already be gong when your pass gets to where they were when you passed it!
• Know HOW you are going to pass it.
• Which skill is going to work best?  Which body part will you use?

Living our life is much like a series of passes on the soccer field.  We are continuously making choices about what to do next in life, where to go, how to get there.  Some are simple little passes, some are "cross the field and completely change the point of attack" passes.  Those passes are sometimes scary.  Because the further pass, the harder it is to control it's ending point.

As I wrote my bi-monthly Status Report for my boss this morning it occurred to me that because I was in Belize two weeks ago, I haven't written one in four weeks.  So, I hadn't communicated with him the fact that I will be starting school again in 4 weeks.  As I wrote that into my report it occurred to me that he is likely to ask some questions.  And it occurred to me that I don't have any answers...

What do I expect to do with these Degrees?  Knowing the answer to that will make answering all of the other questions much easier.  Problem is, I have no idea WHAT I expect to do once I have earned these two degrees.  One would normally go into ministry as a pastor after earning a Masters of Divinity.  But I don't know that God wants me to be a Pastor.  Some go into Chaplaincy.  There are several others as well, but the great majority become Pastors, Chaplains, Counselors, or Professors.

I very briefly started to become nervous about this whole thing.  It's one thing to share with my Christian friends and my family that God is doing something in my life and I have no idea what it is, but I am excited to follow.  They have all heard the Abraham story, so when I say, God told me to "Go" but didn't tell me where to "Go", they understand.  OK, Maybe they don't completely understand, but they understand a whole lot more than unbelievers will, and suddenly it struck me... "My boss is going to think I've lost my mind."

How else do you explain it?  Midlife crisis?  Maybe, but a Mustang would be a much better mid-life crisis!

And then it struck me.  I used to tell my soccer players in practice that, "We do these drills so that you can see your options here and think about them.  HERE in practice I can stop the drill and instruct you on what to do next.  On game day... I can't do that.  On game day... You're on your own.  We practice so you can make good decisions on game day.  I can't run along side you and tell you what to do next, you have to make the decisions on game day.  On game day... You're on your own."

BUT.  Jesus never said that.  Jesus never said, "On game day... You're on your own."  Jesus said, I will send my spirit to be with you.  I will send my Spirit to guide you.  I will send my Spirit to protect you.

Isn't it awesome that in the Game of Life we do not have a Coach, but the CREATOR of the Game, not only on our side, but dwelling within us!

I don't know what my boss will think when he reads my Status Report today.  I don't know what questions he will ask, and I have no idea what he will think when he hears my very unconventional response of "I don't know why I am doing this, I only know that I have been told by God Almighty to do it.  I'll worry about 'why' at a later date..."

God is Good.  He is teaching me new things every day.  He is still teaching me patience and trust.  I still need some funding for this first semester, but I am confident that God will provide.  He has thus far, and He will continue to do so.  If God is leading you to contribute you can do so by clicking blue "GoFundMe" button at the top of the page to the right.  There are instructions there for donating online as well as by directly sending funds to MVNU.

Until His Work in Me is Complete...
Paul