I have played sports all my life. Growing up, it was mainly baseball, with some basketball on the side for fun, and for the extra cardio. When my baseball career ended, I picked up golf, and I also began to play way more basketball than I ever had before. I started at the UNLV gym with pick-up, and I eventually wound up involved in all kinds of recreational mens leagues. I played in leagues at Tark, Hoop City, Las Vegas Basketball Center, Stupak, and UNLV. Sometimes I was playing in three or four of those leagues all at the same time and I’d have several games every week. My knees can’t handle that much basketball anymore, but I still play pick-up as often as I can, and I also play in a mens league off campus.
As much as I enjoy playing pick-up, I realized at some point that I have far more fun playing with my friends than with random people. I know how they (my friends) play, they know how I play, and we all want to win. If you are a competitor, you know that playing sports simply is not fun unless you are winning. That being said, winning almost always demands that everyone plays well, myself included. I am aware that the leagues we play in mean very little, but they mean something to each of us who play. I know that a lot of the guys take time out of their busy lives to show up to games, and I never want to be the reason why the team loses. Now, it may seem silly, but because of this, I say a prayer before most of our games regarding my performance.
“For prayer is request. The essence of request, as distinct from compulsion, is that it may or may not be granted. And if an infinitely wise Being listens to the requests of finite and foolish creatures, of course He will sometimes grant and sometimes refuse them.”
– C.S. Lewis
My prayer is nothing crazy. I simply ask that I would be able to contribute to my team’s success that game, whatever that may look like. I don’t need to be the star player (though that would also be great). I don’t need to hit every shot I put up. I simply want to contribute in whatever way possible to the team’s success. Sometimes that may look like me sitting the entire second half because I am a liability on defense. Sometimes it may look like me doing nothing all game long, but making a couple huge free throws at the end of the game. I am perfectly content with whatever my role may be, so long as I execute when called upon, and so long as we win. Of course, I do not always execute, and as a team, we do not always win. Nevertheless, my point is that I am always content to simply contribute in whatever way that I can.
As the reader is probably already aware, I am currently a full-time electrical engineering (EE) graduate student. I love to learn, and I love my field. Whenever I learn something new that excites me, I cannot wait to share it with those around me. I typically share those kinds of things with Obi, who is also an EE graduate student, or my friend Francisco, whom I worked with at UNLV in EE. I share specifically with them because I know they will appreciate whatever it is I’m telling them about thanks to their own backgrounds in EE. When it’s really exciting, I’ll share it with Fior as well, and she always indulges me.
Similarly, as I dive deeper into the study of God’s word, I am always learning new and exciting things regarding the truth of Christianity. As much as I love electricity, I recognize that the truth of Christianity is far more important than anything else I could ever study, come to understand, get excited about, and share with the people in my life. Not only do I want to share it with my friends and family members, but more and more each day, I want to share it with as many people as possible. That is one of the main reasons why I decided to start this blog.
Some of my biggest role models these days are C.S. Lewis, my favorite author, and Nate Sala, my favorite “YouTuber.”
If you’re not familiar with C.S. Lewis, he is an author who has written some of the most influential books on Christianity in the last century, and, honestly, probably ever. He is also the author of The Chronicles of Narnia series. I pull his quotes into my blog posts very frequently, as I did in this one, because they are always so rich, and so clear. Here are some works of his which I highly recommend:
Each one of those books has changed my life in a meaningful, tangible way, and has in a very real sense shaped and formed my understanding of Christianity and the God of the Bible.
Every now and then, I do get a little discouraged when I realize that I will likely (and very likely at that) never write quite like C.S. Lewis. So maybe at that point, I put away the pen (in reality, the keyboard) and jump over to YouTube.
If you’re not familiar with Nate Sala, he is technically a “YouTuber,” but I put “YouTuber” in quotations because in reality he is a Bible teacher and a former pastor and debate teacher who simply uses YouTube as his primary platform. His main channel is called Wise Disciple and I highly recommend checking it out. He reacts to a lot of current events and tells us how we ought to think about them from a Biblical perspective. He also explains some of the most difficult passages in the Bible, what they meant for their original audience, and what they mean for us today. He has a second channel called Every Word where he steps through the Bible one passage at a time following a 5-day Bible study plan. All-in-all, his content is fantastic, and I am incredibly grateful for his teaching.
But then, every now and then, I get a little discouraged when I realize that I will likely never speak quite like Nate Sala. So maybe at that point, I put away the computer completely and jump into bed.
I am only kidding. Though I am not C.S. Lewis, I still love to write, and want to share what I learn about Christ with others through my writing. And though I am not Nate Sala, I still love to teach, and want to share what I learn about Christ with others through my speech, and through conversation.
Just a couple days ago, I remember thinking about The Great Commission:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
– Matthew 28: 18-20
I started thinking about how Lewis, and Nate, and a plethora of other seasoned, much older and wiser followers of Christ than myself have influenced so many people as they obey The Great Commission using their gifts and their talents. For a moment, I couldn’t help but compare the body of their works to my little blog, and my occasional, often “unsuccessful” conversations with a skeptical or atheistic friend. When I start to compare, my contribution feels very underwhelming.
But then, something (or Someone) reminded me that The Great Commission is not some competition to see who can do the most. In fact, if it were likened to a competition at all, then we’re all on the same team. And that’s when it hit me.
My prayer is nothing crazy. I simply ask that I would be able to contribute to my team’s success that game, whatever that may look like. I don’t need to be the star player (though that would also be great). I don’t need to hit every shot I put up. I simply want to contribute in whatever way possible to the team’s success. Sometimes that may look like me sitting the entire second half because I am a liability on defense. Sometimes it may look like me doing nothing all game long, but making a couple huge free throws at the end of the game. I am perfectly content with whatever my role may be, so long as I execute when called upon, and so long as we win.
– James Skelly, 5 minutes ago
Lewis is a star player. So is Nate. And we, remarkably, are all one in Christ, with a common goal… a common mission, just like any other team. And what a team we have.
So, Lord, I simply ask that I would be able to contribute to my team’s success, whatever that may look like. I don’t need to be the star player (though that would also be great). I don’t need to “hit every shot I put up,” or convert every soul that I encounter. I simply want to contribute in whatever way possible to my team’s success. Sometimes that may look like me sitting with a friend and just listening to their thoughts, and being there for them. Sometimes it may look like me doing nothing all week long, but making a little encouraging blog post at end of the week. I am perfectly content with whatever my role may be, so long as I execute when called upon, and so long as we win. And Lord, I know that in the end, Your team wins.
Amen.
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in in a very little is also dishonest in much.”
– Luke 16:10
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.”
– 1 Corinthians 12: 12-20
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