National Signing Day

LOI or Letter of Intent.

Fax machines and coaches are fired up to see who is going to sign up to be on their team. Most are a sure thing, but volatile recruiting means that some big players are going to change who they pick at the last moment for the sake of sheer publicity.

I often wonder how God the Father feels about this process.

This is a very earthly construct. The signing of a letter of intent to pledge one's self to the process of becoming more through the application of the things a particular coach or teacher shares.

It is not unlike the process of becoming more like Christ.

The scriptures speak of whom do we list to obey.  Like a letter of intent, we show the world whom we choose by how we act.

We file, in effect, an eternally binding letter of intent with every action and every choice.

While repentance is in play thanks to our Agent/Advocate Jesus Christ, the consequences of each choice depends on how much playing time we get in this mortal clash of wills.

If we sign to play on God's team, we are by default refusing the offers from the adversary's team. They will tempt, taunt, torment and try us. It's much like being drawn offsides by a skillful opponent who is trying to see us be penalized while they laugh.

Just as the referee marks off yardage on the field for even the most talented players who make mistakes, we are penalized by being drawn away from the Light of Christ and attempt to change our affiliation to the other team.

Make no mistake, we ARE free to choose the team for whom we will play, but we are NOT free to choose the consequences of our dalliances on that other side. The opposition is NOT our friend. Though they smile and offer what appears to be friendship, the reality is that they are only seeking to make us miserable because THEY are all miserable. The only enjoyment they receive in this part of the journey is the misery that loves company as they see us struggle, suffer and fall.

Which jersey do I want to be wearing when that final second ticks off in the most important moment? What coach REALLY cares about my welfare? Who sees me as more than meat? More than a split-second of entertainment? More than just a pawn to be discarded when the game is no longer fun?

A loving and kind coach cares enough to see that when you are wounded, when you are down, when you are struggling that you need his help, not his condemnation. A coach that sees after your long-term welfare wants to see you become better in every facet of your ability to recognize and counter the tactics that the opposition will use to block you, stop your forward progress and even attempt to knock you down behind the lines and then mock you for your weakened condition.

He will show you as many times as you need to understand. He will be a reminder, he will send messages that sometimes come as a whisper and other times arrive as a clap of thunder. He will provide help in the form of other persons who are already on the team and who are there to make clear the directions from up top.

Today is another opportunity to sign a letter of intent. Yesterday does not matter. It is gone. You cannot bring it back. Instead of focusing on that, look up and look forward. You have before you a clean sheet. Choose which team you wish to join, which team for which you desire to labor, which team for which you would live and die in order to achieve the success that transcends numbers on a scoreboard.

Your letter of intent is within your heart, but it is also in the actions you show others. If you have bought into the process that God the Father has shown us through the gospel of Jesus Christ, then that means you can receive a newness every single time you repent and offer your all to Him.

God doesn't take faxes. He responds to knee mail.

Give Him your letter of intent. Then show him you mean it by how you listen to and apply his coaching.

Become the kind of person that receives the pat on the back when all is said and done who gets to hear the blessed words "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into MY rest!"

National Signing Day never looked brighter.