Grace In The Heartland

I can hardly wait until tomorrow night. We are honoring some young ladies who accomplished something significant, and who, in the process, reminded me of an important lesson.

Last weekend I was in Lincoln, Nebraska, helping to coach a girl's high school varsity basketball team. The girls played extremely well in this weekend tournament and went undefeated in six games to win the tournament championship. It still makes me smile just thinking about it! As competitive as I am and as much as I like to win, the girls reminded me about grace.

The eight girls on our team represent several different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds. As you might imagine, sometimes those differences aren't appreciated by teens, and those differences can lead to tension. When you have tension between eight girls, it's not conducive to playing team-oriented, winning basketball.

But that's where grace comes in. Grace leads us to put our differences aside and accept each other just as God accepts us. Notice what Paul says in Galatians 6:2. "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ."

Grace leads me to be aware of, and care enough, about your burdens that I'm willing to help carry your burden rather than simply thinking about my own burden. That's the essence of teamwork. Paul says when we cooperate with each other in this way, we are fulfilling the law of Christ.

This past weekend, when these eight young ladies set aside all those differences that our culture say should divide them, but instead helped each other out, then they were successful. And isn't that really what grace teaches us--that ultimately when we carry each others burdens, our own burdens become lighter because someone else is helping us too!

Too often, however, I become consumed with my own trials. I don't look for opportunities to help ease someone else's burdens. And in the end, I end up carrying my burden alone. What I need to learn, is the lesson these girls demonstrated on the basketball court. When I focus on what I can do to help someone else succeed, it helps all of us succeed together, and ultimately leads to my own success.

Grace is all about helping others rather than simply thinking of myself. An important lesson learned about grace in the heartland.