FULL POTENTIAL

Cliff Lee of the Texas Rangers has been the most heralded pitcher in the 2010 postseason and for good reason his focus and precision placement of the ball around the plate has made him “perfect” in the eyes of those who know the game. He fell short of that perfection on the biggest stage in Major League Baseball as he lost (first ever postseason loss) the opening game of the World Series, 11-7 to San Francisco Giants. Lee has not always been referred to as “perfect.” In fact when he played for the Cleveland Indians his control was so awful he was sent down to the minor leagues. He had to suffer through this career demotion that eventually transformed the way he approached his craft and to realize his full potential.

John Ruskin said, "The highest reward for a person's toil is not what they get for it, but what they become by it."
 
In what ways is your career transforming you? Since being a Christ-follower is not without its difficulties, some who serve the Lord find that unseen results and undeserved criticism make them bitter and disillusioned.
 
The book of Hebrews says that Christ was made perfect through his sufferings. This is not referring to Christ's sinless perfection; he had already achieved that. "Perfect" here refers to his fully realizing his potential — fully accomplishing the mission that God had given him. How was this accomplished? Through suffering. His suffering brought many to salvation.

And it was only right that God — who made everything and for whom everything was made — should bring his many children into glory. Through the suffering of Jesus, God made him a perfect leader, one fit to bring them into their salvation. (Hebrews 2:10 NLT)
Your career may involve difficulty and hardship. Like Christ, your suffering can make you perfect — it can enable you to fully realize your potential and fully accomplish God's plan for your life.

Remember that the reward for your work is not a pat on the back or an increase in pay. The reward for your work is the transformation of your soul into the likeness of Christ, and the opportunity to hear the ultimate words of approval: "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The 80-20 Rule

In 1906, Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto created a mathematical formula to describe the unequal distribution of wealth in his country, observing that twenty percent of the people owned eighty percent of the wealth. The Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule, states that 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.   Although this rule was first applied in Italy when Pareto was looking at the dispersal of wealth, it has since become a rule of thumb for many businesses.   It has been said that 20% of your workforce does 80% of the work, or 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients.   I think this law comes into play in our lives as well.   Life is 20% what happens to you and 80% what you make of it. There are tons of stories about people who come out of difficult situations — gang life, in and out of jail, drug addiction, broken families, abuse – yet still seem to rise to the top.   And of course, there are many stories of those who have been given...
Read more

Control Yourself

When it comes to our life, we have nothing to say about our birth and little say about our death, but in between these two events most of the decisions are ours to be made. Are you letting life and circumstances control you, or are you controlling your own life and destiny with God’s help. Don't let life pass you by when you have the God-given ability to make things happen. I've heard it said: You can't control the length of your life, but you can control its use. You can't control your facial appearance, but you can control its expression. You can't control the weather, but you can control the moral atmosphere that surrounds you. You can't control the distance of your head above the ground, but you can control the height of the contents in your head. You can't control the other fellow's annoying faults, but you can see to it that you do not develop similar faults. Why worry about things you cannot cont...
Read more

Bounce Back

As a 7th grader in junior high school, I was devastated when I was cut from the starting 8th grade football team and sent to the second team.   I felt disappointed, embarrassed and dejected.   Latter that week, I spoke with my grandfather who passed on these words of wisdom, “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce back that matters.”   I took those words to heart. The Bible says in Proverbs 25:11, “Timely advice is lovely, like golden apples in a silver basket.” I valued his wise words and committed to doing my best for this second string team, instead of pouting and complaining over my sense of failure. I committed to working hard, giving my all to bounce back. It served me well as I entered high school and played on two state championship teams. I learned that day that what happens to me in life doesn’t count as much as how I react to those things.   I had a choice the day I was cut from the team—I could wallow in misery and quit the team, or I ...
Read more