Think of certain young people who idolize an outstanding baseball player. They want nothing so much as to pitch or run or hit as well as their idol. So what do they do?
When they are playing in a baseball game, they try to behave exactly as their favorite baseball star does. The star is well known for sliding head first into bases, so the teenagers do too. The star holds his bat above his head, so the teenagers do too. These young people try anything and everything their idol does, hoping to be like him - they buy the type of shoes the star wears, the same gloves he uses, the same bat.
Will they succeed in performing like the star, though?
We all know the answer quite well. We know that they won't succeed if all they try is to be like him in the game - no matter how gifted they may be in their own way. And we all understand why. The star performer himself didn't achieve his excellence by trying to behave in a certain way
only during the game. Instead, he chose an overall life of preparation of mind and body, pouring all his energies into that total preparation, to provide a foundation in the body's automatic responses and strength for his conscious efforts during the game
Those exquisite responses we see, the amazing timing and strength such an athlete displays, aren't produced and maintained by the short hours of the game itself. They are available to the athlete for those short and all-important hours because of a daily regimen no one sees. For example, the proper diet and rest and the exercises for specific muscles are not part of the game itself, but without them the athlete certainly would not perform outstandingly. Some of these daily habits may even seem silly to us, but the successful athlete knows that his disciplines must be undertaken, and undertaken rightly, or all his natural talents and best efforts will go down in defeat to others who
have disciplined themselves in preparation for game time.
This quote comes from a book by Dallas Willard entitled:
The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives.
In this book Willard "presents a way of living that enables ordinary men and women to join with God and realize their highest aspirations of well-being and -doing. The key to this self-transformation resides in the practice of the spiritual disciplines. Willard explains why the spiritual disciplines work and how their practice affirms human life to the fullest."
This is a classic book that should be required reading for every person who is serious about making his or her life count for God. If you don't have a copy you can get one by clicking on the following link. This is a book you will reference and mark many times over the years and the "best price deal"is really low.
Here's some thoughts about
Vision and how it affects our lives. All too often we limit our vision for our lives, shutting down what God wants us to open up.
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