You Want to Be Great?

You may have noticed on the right side of the picture is NFL quarterback Jon Kitna with a rake in his hands. Jon has spent the last two days serving around the city of Tacoma with the Reality Sports 13U baseball team that he helps coach with Tim Kuykendall. 

Kitna understands that greatness is not just about being in the limelight on the football field. He models what it looks like to achieve true greatness.

All of us want to be great--great in our sport, in our jobs, in our families. There is nothing wrong with wanting to be excellent in what we do. In fact, when Jesus' disciples were arguing over who was the greatest in Mark chapter 9, Jesus didn't reprimand them, rather he told them how to be great.

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve (disciples) and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last and the servant of all."

Mark 9:35

Jesus says in essence, "You want to be great? Then serve. That's how you'll achieve greatness. You may not be great in the way the world defines it, but by finding a need and filling it with no expectation of anything in return, you'll change the world."

This week the Reality Sports 13U and 16U players are continuing to serve around the city of Tacoma. Today players and coaches were working again in partnership with the Tacoma Rescue Mission at one of their family housing complexes. They're weeding, raking, picking up trash, making terrariums with the kids, and planning a basketball tournament for tomorrow for the kids in the complex.

We pray the people they're serving would be blessed and that these young players would understand what it looks like to be great fathers and husbands someday, great in their jobs, and great on the field of play--by serving.