Meat and Potatoes

    I know, I know, it's been way too long since my last post.  I've been meaning to get this one up for awhile now.  I'm still in Campbell River for those who are wondering, and I've kind of sunk into the routine of life here: practice in the morning, class or work after that, then hit the gym in the afternoon and relax in the evening. 

    I'll touch on routine again later on but first I should explain the title.  Meat and Potatoes.  No this has nothing to do with food, believe it or not.  In the game of hockey there are the snipers, the goal scorers, the Crosby's if you will.  Then there are those known as grinders, energy players, meat and potatoes kind of guys.  They might not be as flashy or as talented as the snipers, but they are an essential part of any team.  These are the guys that you need on your team come playoff time, the guys who win you Stanley Cups.

    Now think about this:  Christianity works similar to a team in many ways.  You have "allstars," people like Billy Graham or CS Lewis who get a lot of press.  Then you have your "average" meat and potatoes Christians like me...a regular guy who doesn't have a "spiritual" job or go to a "spiritual" school.  Many people would not consider someone like that as important as one of those Kingdom "snipers" but I would argue they are just as crucial if not more.  Energy players will work extremely hard and often draw penalties through their determination.  They get the powerplays so the offensive players can score the goals on the man advantage.  In the same way, these average Christians do the work, day in and day out they show Christ's love to their friends and coworkers, being a witness to the good news of Jesus.  Maybe they invite them to a church service or a Christian conference where the preacher speaks a great sermon and makes them decide to follow Christ.  Was it the pastor or the church member that led the person to Christ?  It takes both kinds of players to win a championship. 

    This leads me to my second point.  The phrase "spiritual high" gets thrown around a lot in the church these days.  This can refer to a feeling you get at church or a manifestation of the Spirit.  Not that there is anything wrong with any of that, in fact those are often the times of greatest spiritual growth.  The problem is too often we come down from those mountaintop experiences and fall back into routine.  You can have the most powerful spiritual encounter at church with other Christians but I believe God is far more concerned about the other 6 days of the week.  How do you live out your faith around non-believers at your school or workplace?  That is a question we should all be asking ourselves a lot more often than we do.

    I heard a really great quote awhile ago; "Salvation cannot be achieved through effort and spiritual maturity cannot be achieved without it."  Peter emphasizes this when he says to "Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.  For if you possess those qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." -2 Peter 1:5-8.  He goes on from there using the phrase "Make every effort" twice more in his letter before its end. 

    To be honest, the reason I'm talking about all this is I haven't been doing it all that well lately.  I feel like I haven't really been putting the effort in.  So please be praying for me that daily I would have the courage and commitment to "fight the good fight of the faith" and" take hold of the eternal life to which you were called" (1 Timothy 6:12).

    Lets make every effort to be effective in our day to day roles, wherever we are called to be, and learn to rise above the monotony of the weekly schedule to live a life worthy of our calling.