Learning to be on His Team
I was fourteen years old, sitting in a classroom at a desk where the chair and desk were all one cohesive piece. Getting in and out of those things was hazardous to your health and ego as a freshman in high school. The room was filled with mostly juniors and seniors and a sprinkling of sophomores and freshmen. The Coach of the Varsity Swim Team stood at the front of the class. I had never participated in any form of organized sport nor had I ever learned to swim competitively prior to this. All I knew was that I enjoyed swimming and thought it would be fun to participate on a team. I wanted to be a part of the team, but I was nervous because it was something I had never done before.
I went up to her after the information meeting telling her I had never swam competitively before and I did not think I would be able to be a part of the team. She looked at me and asked, “Do you want to be a part of the team?” I took a deep breath. I did. I don’t know what made me want it, but I could feel it in my core that I wanted it. “Yes. I do.” “Then, you’re a part of the team. I’ll teach you how to swim.”
I think of this memory often because it reminds me of how Jesus is with us. He is willing to have any one be on His team. You just have to ask. And, He is also willing to show us how to be on His team.
I did not have to try out to be on Varsity Swim Team. I did not have to have any prior experience or knowledge of swimming competitively. I just had to ask to be on the team. But once I was on the team, I had to show up every day. Not because I was earning a spot on the team; I already had a spot. However, I was learning to swim competitively, and I couldn’t learn if I didn’t show up. It was something that I wanted. The more I swam, the more I wanted to be swimming.
Jesus doesn’t require us to be righteous and be in a condition acceptable to God on our own. We become acceptable to God when we accept the sacrifice of Jesus’s death on The Cross. We “put on” His righteousness. There is nothing you or I can do to make us a condition acceptable to God. When I put on my swim team warm ups, they were designed to keep me warm when outside of the pool. There is nothing that I did to make myself warm. I put something on that did the work for me. It is the same concept when putting on the righteousness of Christ. I do nothing but put on His righteousness; that is, accepting He died for my sins, rose from the dead, and fulfilled all the things that separated me from God.
But I know that I can get caught into that trap of trying to earn righteousness. If I sign up for one more study, buy another book (and actually read it), go to this church or stop going to that church, if I become friends with those people; if I could just wake up tomorrow and not think like this or act like that, then maybe God would finally be pleased with me. Beloved, let me tell you that is not how our Heavenly Father wants us to think or live. But sometimes we create a burden that becomes heavier and heavier on us. We are not to be so exhausted and overwhelmed by learning how to be on His team that we start to fail.
He wants us to enjoy learning to be on His team. He just wants us to spend time with Him. We can do this by reading His word (the Bible), being in fellowship with other believers, worshipping Him, and praying. And the more I do these things for the sole purpose of spending time with Jesus, not earning my spot on His team, the more I want to do those things. And the more I do these things, the more I am able to recognize how my thinking, words, and behavior begin to change to become more like Him.
The more I practiced and focused on my enjoyment of being in the water, the better swimmer I became. By the end of the season, my best event was at Olympic qualifying times. I remember getting out of the pool after the event to see my Coach come over to me, tears in her eyes, telling me, “You can swim now.” In the same way, I want to spend as much time with Jesus as I can, because I enjoy His presence. The more I spend time with Him, the more I become like Him. And it is my hope that one day, I will see and hear Him say, with tears in His eyes, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
Points to Ponder:
1. What is an area you struggle with regarding “putting on the righteousness of Christ?”
2. How do you try to earn to “be an acceptable condition to God?”
3. What is something you enjoy about Jesus that can help you focus on spending time with Him?
4. How have you seen your life change as you have spent time with Jesus?
Megan Sinisi absolutely adores a good cup of coffee, chocolate, and sitting with people to share life stories. She is a native to Las Vegas, born and raised, and has four beautiful children with her handsome husband, Vincenzo. She is a counselor, specializing in the field of addictions, with multiple certifications, both in Nevada and nationally. She directed Nevada’s largest treatment court and has been building her private practice since 2014, acquiring contracts with the City of Las Vegas, City of Henderson, Clark County Special Defender’s Office, and Zappos.com. It is because of her own journey of healing and through her career that she has learned the wounds we have can begin to be healed as we share our stories. She considers it an honor when someone shares their story with her, and hopes that as she shares her stories of victory and healing that others can be inspired, encouraged, and challenged. Megan has a love and fervor for writing and is walking in faith that God is calling her to use that passion and gift for His glory. She is someone who is known for her honesty and transparency that brings light to difficult situations and feelings, and offers hope and encouragement for the journey of life. It is her hope that by sharing her journey, it encourages, challenges, inspires, comforts, and most importantly, shines the light of Jesus and the reality of His love, grace, and mercy. You can find more from Megan at www.meganjsinisi.com And @meganjsinisi on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.