What’s your part in history?

point of view

My football career ended at the high school, but I carried lessons from those years that remain powerful for me, today. I was a defensive tackle on a team with regional dominance; our coaches were remarkable. One day, Manny PeƱaflor – our defensive line coach – taught me a life lesson on the scrimmage field. He delivered it to me privately, with only 50+ of my teammates listening in.

Manny stopped the action, grabbed my facemask and put his face in front of my nose: ā€œChawnk! How big is the football field?ā€ Ā My immediate reaction was technically true: 300ā€™ x 160ā€™. Right on the noseā€¦ but he was looking for a different/better answer.

ā€œNot your   field!ā€ He released my head, turned his shoe sideways and drew a 10ā€™ x 10ā€™ square around me, in the dirt of the practice field. ā€œThatā€™s your field! If anybody from the other side comes into your field, put ā€˜em on their ass!ā€

I was trying to protect 48,000 square feet, but Manny assigned me just 100. The other guys on the defense would do their parts, and – if we all did our portion – weā€™d win (and, we did).

There arenā€™t many people more notable – in history – than King David of Israel. Yet, when Paul presented his first archived message – in Pisidian Antioch (in ruins today, in the middle of modern Turkey) – to a Jewish audience in the synagogue there, he mentioned their common historic hero in this way: ā€œFor when David had served Godā€™s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed (Acts 13:36).

In modern culture, there are trendy nuggets of advice that are repeated because they are succinct and credible. Wisdom fit for a fortune cookie: Find your niche. Stay in your lane. Figure out your sweet spot.

Attributed to no one in particular, they are recounted ad nauseum because they ring true. You canā€™t do everything, so donā€™t try. Instead, find your one thing and devote yourself to becoming the genius in your narrow category of expertise.

David was the timeless Super Hero of Israel: he was elevated from last-of-eight in his farm family – relegated to tending sheep while his brothers fought Philistines – to ultimately become the King of Israelā€™s 12 tribes, and progenitor of the family line that would birth the Messiah, Jesus, 1000 years later. How did he do it?

He found his niche. He stayed in his lane. He figured out his sweet spot.

In the beginning, that put him in charge of a herd of sheep. While delivering GrubHub to his brothers on the battlefield, his confidence in his Big God put him up against a Big Philistine (the one he dropped with a well-placed sling-shot rock). He graduated to 300 mighty men (while on the run from Saul); ultimately, he became the dynastic sovereign over the 12-tribe Nation of Israel for 40 years.

Early on, the Kingdom advanced under the influence of Apostles who figured out their part in the Great Commission that Jesus passed to them as He left Earth to return to Heaven.

When Jesus was fulfilling His calling, he restricted himself, intentionally: ā€œI was sent only to the lost sheep of Israelā€ (Matthew 15:24). Chosen People would be given first access to their Messiah.

Paulā€™s calling was focused as well, but to a very different population. The day of Saulā€™s conversion, God revealed His long-term assignment for him: ā€œThis man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israelā€¦ā€ (Acts 9:15-16).

God has drawn boundaries around your field of play; your assignment – done in concert with other faithful teammates – will serve Godā€™s purposes in this generation. Thatā€™s all He wants from you.

As we re-start a New Year, Iā€™ll ask you what Manny asked me: How big is your field?

 

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4 Comments

  1. Love ā€œstay in your laneā€ … I think about this often when I start to question what God spoke to me.

  2. Love the reminder Friend and mentor this is soooo true for this growing GODā€™s man God has created me to be a dot connector for HIS Kingdom and I need to always remember and remind myself to not get stuck in the door.

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