July 9: Playing Your Position

On God's team each player has a specific purpose and role to play. God wants you to discover your role and play your position--no one else can, it is uniquely yours. On God’s team there are no “bench warmers”; we should each strive to discover and play the position God has for us.

What would you think of a man who played 15 years in the NFL, and never scored a touchdown or a single point in a single game? This man made 1,032 tackles. He blocked 86 passes. He made 19 fumble recoveries. He made 3 interceptions. He was later inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. Who is this man? Six feet, nine inch Ed “Too Tall” Jones!

He was Chosen by the Dallas Cowboys as the first overall pick out of Tennessee State in the 1974 NFL Draft. I saw him play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. He played four years and retired in 1979. He returned, and went on to earn 3 Pro-Bowl honors, led the Cowboys to 10 playoff appearances, and in 15 seasons never missed a game. He played in 232 consecutive games. Upon retirement he had played more seasons and more games than any other Cowboy player. Because of him the NFL adopted a new statistic: the deflected pass.

How did he manage to achieve such an honor without scoring any points? He simply played his position of defensive end as good, or better, than anyone else. Despite his scoreless career, no one who knows football would summarize his contributions as pointless. What made Ed Jones a hero was his contributions as a team player.

In the Bible we read of many “team players”, people who knew their purpose and role and fulfilled both to God’s glory. John the Baptist was a real-life hero who made “the ultimate sacrifice” for his faith.

It is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way" -- "a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all mankind will see God's salvation.'"
And so John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. John wore clothing made of camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey." (Mark 1:2-6)

"The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah." (Luke 3:15)

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! Then John gave this testimony: "I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.' I have seen and I testify that this (Jesus) is the Son of God." (John 1:29, 32-34)

Like John, we must each discover and accept the role God has for us. At first the crowds came to John, but they eventually began following Jesus, leaving John outside the limelight. John’s attitude is revealed in the explanation he gave to those who questioned his waning popularity: “Jesus must increase, but I must decrease” John 3:30 (HCSB).

We are not on God’s team to sit and be served. He have given each of us a role to play. The Apostle summarized it like this:
“For you have been called to live in freedom – not freedom to indulge your selfish desires, but freedom to serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13)

Free to serve. Make it a priority to discover your role and play your position for God’s glory.