Take Chances
“But as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good.”
2 Thessalonians 3:13
“It doesn’t have to be pretty,” he told his son. “But Dad, I don’t know how to throw the ball,” the young boy replied. His father quickly said, “And you will never learn to until you try to throw it. So, throw the ball.”
We want to come out of the gate on top. That is not possible. Learning and doing anything new takes a lot of sloppy missteps and trashy conclusions. Through that process, we know and grow if we don’t stop.
As Christians, many of us want to be perfect and get everything right on the first try. That’s not possible. You can’t learn to speak without speaking in public. You can’t learn to lead a public prayer without leading public prayer. You can’t learn to teach Bible class or do evangelism until you do them. Prayer doesn’t have to be pretty to get the job done. You don’t have to hit a home run in Bible class to teach the Bible. But you do have to do it to get it done. All those folks that “do such a great job” had their awful mishaps, stumbled over words, made mistakes, even had things get messy. They learned and grew.
It is also in the missteps and all this effort our faith grows. We see that in Hebrews 11. None of these people that were mentioned as living by faith were perfect out of the gate. However, they had enough active trust in God to go and do. Then in that action they grew and got better and stronger in Him. God never left them nor did he fault them for trying. Only in disobedience or lack of action do we see God’s wrath. Wicked and lazy are not an option. (Matthew 25:26) However, if the best you can give is a little then a little will suffice. (Mark 12:41-44)
Therefore, take chances, make mistakes, and get messy. Then you will grow and become someone who “does such a great job.”
- Steve Johnson
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