Skip to main content

I am Cheering for You

                When a child draws a picture, you say, “Wow! That is beautiful!” even when you have no idea what they drew.

                School plays are painful.  Most of the time the kids mumble into the microphone, or they forget their lines altogether.  Half of the performers are distracted and are not where they ought to be.  At the end, they sing some song really off-key.  What do you do?  You give them a standing ovation.

                I used to coach hockey.  No matter how many times we told them to spread out, seven-year-olds play hockey in a group.  When the puck is in the corner, so are all the players.  Half of them have fallen down and when one finally gets a chance to take a shot, she misses the puck and almost falls over too.  After the game, everyone talks as if that was the most exciting thing they had ever seen.

                We do these things for one reason: love cheers for people!

                That is until we become adults.  Then, for some reason, we stop cheering for one another and start competing.  We become jealous of what others have or what they get to do.  We act as if it somehow hurts me if you do well.

                The truth is, though, I have the same life whether you do well or not.  Life is not a pie.  I do not get less if you get more.   Your success or failure has very little to do with me, so why would I not cheer for you to do well?

                Paul cheers for the Colossian church when he writes, “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people” (Colossians 1:3-4).  We are told that the angels in heaven cheer and celebrate when people are saved (Luke 15:10). The father in the story of the prodigal, or lost, son says, “We had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:32).

                God is cheering for you!  He wants the best for you.  He celebrates when you take a step in the right direction (John 3:16-17).

                We never outgrow the need for encouragement.

                Start cheering for one another! 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Noticing.... Seeing what we need to see and what we miss when we don't

 What we focus on in life matters. Here are some scriptural reminders that will help us see correctly.  https://youtu.be/Rn76tV0ZH8s    
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This.... Which Way Are You Leaning?

   When Ben Patterson agreed to join three friends climbing Mount Lyell, the highest point in Yosemite National Park, he did not realize what he was signing up for.  Early in the day, it became clear that he was completely unprepared for the task.  In an effort to keep up with his more experienced friends, Ben took a shortcut.  It did not occur to him that there might be a reason the others had not selected this route, but he soon found out why.  Ben became stuck on the glacier.  He could not move up, down or sideways and one wrong move would send him sliding down a forty-five-degree slope to the valley floor miles below.   That is when one of his friends came to the rescue. His buddy leaned over the edge and carved some footholds in the ice.  He told Ben to step to the first foothold and immediately swing his other foot to the second, then his buddy would pull him to safety.  Lastly, his friend gave him one more piece of advice....
Post a Comment
Read more

Consider This: The Biggest Problem Is Not Out There!

In a time when everyone has a vocal opinion on everything and judgment is everywhere, maybe we need to reconsider the words of Jesus. “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:3-5).  Here are two observations to consider. First, when we look for what others are doing wrong, we are starting in the wrong place.  “Take the log out of your eye” is the first move.  Start with yourself!  It is easy to judge others and make excuses for ourselves.  Yet, that is completely backwards! If we are honest, we never get past making ourselves better.  There is always more to do.  This, then, leaves very little time to point out...
Post a Comment
Read more