I remember it clearly. I was a new, young coach. I was full of life and passion. I had a great group of girls. They were kind, loving, sweet. They were everything you wanted. But boy were they weak. I had this one girl, loved her, played post. She didn't tower above everyone, but it was obvious she was the tallest and therefore my center. I would make her try to rebound over me. She would nudge me and apologize.
"What?" "Sorry." "Ugh." Over the next few days and weeks one thing kept coming up. They were so weak. Their weakness came from their politeness. They were being the good girls their parents raised them to be. However, it made for poor basketball players. Being that they were a Christian team, I wasn't just allowed to bring in Jesus, I was encouraged. So I did. We talked about doing our best, and playing our hardest for God's glory, but something was still missing. Then it clicked in my head. I did a little research and came in ready to go. I looked at my dear sweet post player and said these words, "Jesus was meek, not weak!" Huh? I gave them the definition of meekness - being humble. I gave the point that yes, we should be meek. We should be humble in our interactions and speech. But that doesn't mean that we should roll over and play dead. I gave some simple examples of Jesus. Jesus sat in anger taking the time to make a whip before driving out the merchants in the temple courts. I like to picture Jesus stewing in the corner. "They came to my house. MY HOUSE! and they think they can act like this. This isn't some yard sale. This is MY HOUSE." And he nimbly braids together the whip. (I once heard someone say it would have taken him 3 hours to make the whip. Yeah, Jesus was patient.) He didn't let those merchants take over. He showed them what would happen in his house. As much as I love that example, I feel far more connected to the next. Jesus was a carpenter. We know it from the time we're little. We picture him with his little hammer and some wooden nails. He makes a table, so sweet. NO! I've done carpentry work with my father before. It's hard work. And that's with power tools, electricity, air conditioning, battery operated drills, and an air compressor nail gun. Jesus had his tools and his arm. I pointed that out to the girls one day. I can still picture Amanda's face as I went over this example. Jesus sawing wood by hand. His arm pulsing back and forth. The sweat pouring down his face. "Guys, I picture Jesus jacked! I picture him ripped! He had to be! I see how strong my dad is from his work, and he has power tools." Light bulbs starting going off. Jesus was strong. He worked hard. Sure, he was polite and humble, but he let no man walk over him. I still see this as a relevant topic for Christians. As humans, we are abrasive, and intrusive. We puff up the peacock feathers and barge into things we shouldn't. Instead of firm, strong, unwavering, we become rude and obnoxious, or uncaring. Those actions aren't strength, their weakness. They are cover-ups for the true weak being inside. It's obvious phsycho-babble to talk about the big buy being small inside. Why does it have to be like this? Why are we so weak that we either let people bulldoze us, or we act like the tough guy? Jesus was meek, not weak. He stood firm in the face of opposition, unmoved by the elite. He reached out to those "beneath" him because he knew the truth that no human is beneath another. He wasn't killed by the Jews and the Romans, he laid down His life on His own terms. THAT is a far greater strength than we every come across. Christians stand tall like a large oak tree. Let your roots be grounded in the strength of the Lord. But also let your branches reach out to those who need to be lifted up. We have enough weakness in this world. It's time to be the example of strength.
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May 2023
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