I was watching the NBA Finals last night & they showed an interview with Kobe Bryant & Magic Johnson talking about how Kobe’s in the gym at 5 am every morning working out, practicing, pursuing his mastery of the fundamentals. Given his incredible natural talent, one might think he got where he is on talent alone. But now we know this is not the case.
We tend to think about Jesus the same way. You know… “he was the Son of God, so obviously he was perfect” kind of thing. As if he did everything on natural ‘talent.’ How easy it is to forget that when he was tempted by the devil, he resisted, responding with “it is written,” demonstrating his dependence on the Scriptures. He made a habit of corporate worship, going to the Synagogue every weekend. And the Gospel of Luke tells us that “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” What he demonstrated was a disciplined life empowered by the Spirit and obedient to God.
And more than winning sports championships, He overcame sin, death, the devil and hell itself to win a victory for all of us we couldn’t achieve on our own.
I’m crazy enough to believe we can change the world. But I realize it won’t happen without being absolutely committed to the cause of Christ. Committed enough to change our habits. Committed enough to get up in the morning to pray. Committed enough to embrace discipline and master the “fundamentals.” Because if we want to have the kind of influence & experience the kind of power Jesus had, we need to do a few things really, really consistently:
1. Read the Bible
2. Resist temptation
3. Worship in community
4. Pray
Of course, this isn’t all we should do. But let’s at least do what we know to do & do it well.
“I realized that becoming a master of karate was not about learning 4,000 moves but about doing just a handful of moves 4,000 times.” – Chet Holmes
