Be Like Christ

Over the last 3 weeks, there has been a documentary on ESPN about this dude named Michael Jordan. You may have heard of it...it's called "The Last Dance". I was introduced to MJ when I was about to turn 8 years old...yes, it was 1982 and he hit the first of many "the shots" to defeat Georgetown in the NCAA championship game for the Tarheels...beginning his streak of defeating Patrick Ewing over and over again, but that's another story.

From that day, the basketball goal on the tree in the backyard at the parsonage of Oak Grove Baptist Church went up (and everywhere else we lived), and a million times, I took "the shot"...tongue hanging out with the clock running down. Then, in the summer of 1982, I was at the Campbell University basketball camp...yep, the man himself was there...live and in person.

In May of 1982, I was introduced to someone else...Jesus...by my dad. Yeah, I had heard dad preach the gospel every Sunday, but this was different...he sat me down and personally shared the gospel with me. In October of that same year, God opened my heart to believe the gospel...I knew I needed a Savior...not MJ, but Jesus, the one who gave his life in my place.

Fast forward 11 years...the summer of '93 working at the BEST camp in the world...Camp CaRAway. And, what is one of the most popular songs in the country at the time...yes, "Be Like Mike"...the Gatorade commercial...the single...

Well, I had the single...I would play that song EVERY morning to wake up my campers that summer...oh, yeah, I got roasted for it at the end of the summer by my friends...

It wasn't that I really wanted them to "be like Mike" -- that one or even this one...the goal was to call these young men to "be like Christ" every single day. It was really about making disciples...like Jesus did...like Paul did..."follow me and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:18-22) and "follow me as I follow Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1).

So, did I have a little fun with the song...of course I did...even the rap in the song...but, it wasn't really about that...it was about making disciples.

And, sure, did I want to "be like Mike" in my basketball game...you bet...tongue out, baggy shorts, and the wrist band...but in life...I just want to "be like Christ" (Philippians 2:5-8).

The Struggle is Real

As you live the Christian life, do you ever find yourself immersed in the battle of Romans 7:15-25? Some days, that battle is off the charts. It's like you're wrestling against the Beast, Brock Lesner and it's a lumberjack match with all the "bad guys" surrounding the ring (yes, that's a WWE reference).

With the "quarantine" having been in full force the last few weeks, it has reminded me that while there is an enemy I'm wrestling against outside of myself, sometimes, no...many times...no, most of the time...I am my own worst enemy in this battle.

Sometimes, I feel like screaming with Paul, "Wretched man that I am!" The struggle is real! The fight for righteousness and joy in Christ is not for the faint of heart. Fortunately, like Martin Luther wrote in the hymn A Mighty Fortress is our God, the right man is on our side.

"Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

We fight, we wrestle from the position of victory in Christ--that we've been given everything we need to win the battle.

So, keep fighting today...in the immortal words of Jimmy V, "Don't give up, don't ever give up!" (yes, I quoted a coach from NC State)