Catching Up With Old Friends
Posted by Jon Copper:
At Saturday's tryout I saw some old friends. Trey Lewis played safety at Fork Union the year I was there. He had 12 or 13 interceptions that year and went on to have a solid career at Ball State. He is from North Carolina, and this was his second tryout for the CFL.
Another friend of mine was there, Joey Hudson from Miami of Ohio. Joey and I met at Athletes in Action Ultimate Training Camp in 2006. He is a linebacker, so we got to spend a good amount of time catching up during the day. One of the highlights of our conversation was the reality of Paul's words in Ephesians 6 and Colossians 3 to those under authority in a work environment: "Whatever you do, do it heartily, as for the Lord and not for men."
The implications of that are astounding. As I play football, I am to treat every coach and referee as if they had made the greatest sacrifice for my good -- namely their own life. I like to think of the powerful scene at the end of "Saving Private Ryan" where James Ryan is at the grave of Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) begging his wife in his old age to tell him he has lived a good life in light of the five men who gave their lives to save his.
Peter takes this a step further in his letter pleading to submit "not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust." The only way to do that is to realize that I am not sovereign, but He is, and I am not the judge, but He is.
With that knowledge in hand I am free to joyfully yield to others in authority over me even if they are not treating me well, knowing that I am ultimately surrendering to the One who has placed this authority in my life for His purposes and knowing that we both are under the hand of He who will one day make all accounts right.
You can check out Joey's Blog at http://nflhudson.wordpress.com/
By
Jon Copper
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May 22, 2009; 9:00 AM ET
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