An Example

I am an avid basketball player/fan, and I regularly get up at 5 in the morning to go play basketball at a local church. If you are thinking that is way too early to do anything, much less play basketball, I have to let you know that we regularly have more than 10 guys there to play. The normal routine is for us to shoot around a bit and then we gather in a circle to pray and get the teams organized. Recently, my friend, who usually gets the guys organized and prays, was unable to play for several weeks. Because I am one of the older guys and have been playing there regularly for about 1 year (and because I wanted to start playing!!!), I stepped into the void and decided I would handle those duties in my friend’s absence.

Yesterday while I was playing, a young man disagreed with a foul I called on him. I probably don’t have to tell you that pick-up basketball can sometimes get quite competitive, and we do occasionally have arguments over foul calls. To be fair, I don’t call many fouls and, looking back, I probably shouldn’t have called that one. Nevertheless, I did and he honored the call although he didn’t think it was right. A little while later he grabbed a rebound over my head and I think I may have pushed him as he was coming down. Honestly, it was imperceptible to me, but just as he was stepping away from me after returning to the floor I realized that I had pushed him. He looked at me and commented that we needed to talk after the game. It wasn’t a threat, and he wasn’t being hostile but more just a statement of fact. Once the games that morning had ended he came up to me, and we had a brief conversation.

This young man expressed to me that he had just become a Christian and asked me about where I went to church. He went on to explain that he looked up to me as an example because I had been the one to pray that morning. I apologized to him for pushing him on the rebound that I mentioned above. We had a good conversation and we parted on good terms.

Not until I was on my way home from the gym did I fully realize the impact that his statement about me being an example had on me. I suddenly realized the gravity of the situation. By praying I had put myself in a position PUBLICLY to represent Jesus Christ. I recognize that I represent Christ every day in all that I do, but somehow this seemed different. The guys at the gym only see me for that short amount of time on the basketball court. To be frank, this is probably the place where I come in contact with more people who don’t acknowledge Christ than at any other time of my day. To be sure, this experience has made me re-think how I act on the basketball court. I certainly will be more conscious of my actions towards others.

Because I am a follower of Christ I am an example for others of who He is. If I lived with this thought always in mind would I act differently than normally do? This is the question on which I intend to meditate. I hope that my answer is no. Do you have an answer to that question?