Disappointment . . . and moving on.

I’m glad I stuck to my original plan.  Even though Canada was playing Czechia with the winner moving on to the Gold Medal game, I knew morning would come quickly.  I hated to do it, but I did go to bed after the first period.  The game was tied 1-1.

Once I was up and going this morning, I watched the highlights on YouTube.  The second and third periods did not disappoint . . . until the the last 2:41 of the game and Czechia pulled into a 5-4 lead.  The Canadian boys worked hard but the game ended in disappointment.

During the coverage, the TV cameras would frequently pan across the players’ parents who were in attendance.  You really didn’t have to watch the game;  their body language pretty much told you what was happening on the ice.

I wonder what was going through their minds?  Surely they thought back over the very beginnings of teaching young legs how to stand on skates, how to turn in BOTH directions, how to keep their balance when shooting.  There were endless hours at local rinks, miles in the car, and double-doubles consumed.  At the end of it all, I’m sure they would deem it was worth it.  Here are their boys performing at an elite level.  What a journey they have travelled.

We admire those who demonstrate such high level of skill.  Whether it is on the ice, playing an instrument, learning a hobby, or expressing oneself artistically, there are skills to learn and practice.  No one enters the world ready to demonstrate great accomplishment.  We try, make mistakes, sometimes fail, learn, and move on.  Or, at least we should move on.  To be skilled we understand we can’t quit playing the piano at the first missed note, stop skating at the first fall, or throw away the paints with the first blob on the canvas. Life is a process of learning and acquiring skills.

Living by faith is also a skill that is acquired over time and often through the process of making mistakes, sometimes failing, learning, and moving on.  Seldom does God zap us with instantaneous transformation and maturity.  SOMETIMES He does!  We cannot discount or devalue the supernatural work of the Spirit of God in each of us;  we are totally dependent on it.  However, most of the time we learn through the process of seeing God’s faithfulness in the diversity, often painful life events.  Our legs may wobble on the ice at first.  We have confidence, though, that God is at work.  Paul encouraged the church in Philippi with these words:  “He who began a good work in you will continue it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

There are some significant differences between faith skills and other life skills.  Life skills are all about accomplishment;  “How good can you become?”  Faith skills, on the other hand, are all about dependence; “How completely do we trust God?”  Life skills usually have external metrics (the number of goals scored).  Faith skills have internal metrics (what are my passions and priorities?).  Life skills often pursue being “the best” (can I make the team?).  Faith skills pursue stewardship (how well can I represent Christ in this situation?).

I imagine that those who knew Saul (before he was Paul) and then met Paul later would have noted a huge difference in his being.  The fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5 are observable transformations:  love, joy, peace, patience, etc.  The change God does in us is remarkable!

We must take care, though.  As external observers, we can never assume - for better or for worse - what is happening in another’s heart.  The Pharisees impressed . . . to their doom.  Others who were unknown, anonymous sufferers for faithfulness are praised as “people of whom the world was not worthy” (Heb. 11:38).   They simply walked with God.

What’s the take-away from all of this?  Living by faith is a learnt skill.  As a learnt skill it is also a process - a process in which the Holy Spirit is integrally involved.  As a learnt skill we must also be intentional in our growth - to learn of God and His created order, to pursue His Kingdom, and to practice the habits of godliness.  We will wobble.  We will fall down.  We will make mistakes.  Sometimes, we will fail.  

We will also pick one another up.  We will encourage.  We will forgive.  We will confess.  We will be patient.  At the end of it all we will understand it is worth it, all to the praise of His glory (Eph. 1:18).