This is a story about basketball, the Gospel and the Body of Christ. So let me begin by filling you in on my basketball resume. I am 5' 9"ish, have vertical leap of about 5", am about as quick as a Clydesdale and have a shooting range of about 5'. So you may be asking yourself what exactly do I have to offer on a basketball court. I am a quality passer. If you are open, you will get the ball. I am a tenacious defender. I also have a knack for rebounding (despite my size).
So as you can see, I have all the prerequisites of an NBA Draft Lottery selection...NOT! My skills are valuable to most teams but not generally recognized as valuable because they are not glorious. So today I felt giddy (like only a 12 year old should) when I was the 2nd overall selection in a pickup basketball game. And this wasn't your old dudes league. This was a bunch of college and high school students mostly. Now, I am well aware that "the first shall be last, and the last shall be first", but honestly, it felt good to be picked, to have someone recognize that you add value to their team. And you know what, I responded. I played really well. I did the things I do well really well and I even contributed somethings that aren't my specialty. And I never wore out. I am tired and sore now but not during the game. Not when I was wanted, needed.
Isn't this the picture of the Gospel. We weren't pickable. It is much easier to find our limitations than our value. And yet, Christ chose us. He not only chose us, but sacrificed everything to make it happen. Imagine trading the entire 1992 Dream Team for the rights to select me to be on the team...times infinity. On top of all of that, he gifts each one of us with specific spiritual qualities and places us exactly where and when he wants us in order that we might have the most impact in building up His Church and advancing His Kingdom. He is a great and gracious God and everyone one that I have ever met that "was picked" had the exact same reaction that I had this morning. It feels good to be valued, to be wanted, to be picked. And we immediately respond with our best. Because it is natural. It is designed by God and he uses his design to call us back to him.
So this brings me to the Body of Christ. When God, our GM and Captain, picks player, what is our response? Sure, I have rarely met a believer who booed the "draft pick" like a Philly fan. But on many occasions, I have seen us devalue a teammate because they don't have glorious gifts. Sometimes we don't even bother to get to know what their gifts are and place in the Body is because they aren't immediately obvious. When this happens, the initial joy of being picked is soon overcome by the feelings of uselessness, inferiority to more "mature" teammates and sometimes even unwelcomeness. We stop producing even what we are good at and often wear out or just quit trying.
Discipleship has been heavy on my mind recently. What should it look like in our current culture? What organizational structures and systems best move people along the continuum of spiritual maturity? As I experienced being picked this morning, it dawned on me that these things are important, but not nearly has important as developing a culture in which our teammates inherently value everyone on the team. This doesn't come from structures and systems. This comes from a change in heart of believers. From a transforming of the mind. And these changes start with powerful proclamation of the Word of God. The constant reminder that the Gospel is still Good News to us. A humble understanding that we too are unworthy draft picks. A daily picking up of our crosses, dying to ourselves and letting Christ be our eyes not only on the unbelieving world but also on the our imperfect, flawed brothers and sisters. Eyes that see not the imperfections but the value of your teammate. And then encouraging, equipping and amplifying that value so that it resounds in the Body.
Let us always remember that discipleship begins with being picked not perfect.
