Glorified :: Use your God given talent

Prodigy
After a 5th grade youth basketball game in my city YMCA-League, my mom encouraged me to invite one of the boys on my team for a sleep over. We were only acquaintances through basketball, so I felt a little awkward with the invitation but followed through like a good son does. His name was John Langseth, a skinny blond kid who like me, was in that in-between growing spurt stage where your nose takes up about 70% of your face. He agreed to the invitation, got the ok from his mom and we were off in the back of the minivan. On the way home we heard a fairly new song on the radio, I can’t recall the name of the tune but I remember my mom was being a bit of a rebel by turning her usual Christian radio station to some hard rock. It was not until later that I would realize the importance of this moment. John’s head was nodding to the music with his eyes closed as I mouthed the wrong words like usual.

The memory of the next 5 minutes I am going to describe, changed me and my outlook on the entire idea of purpose. We walked into the kitchen, still mimicking the song we heard in the car, as John’s eyes caught a glimpse of the electronic keyboard in the family room across the dinner table. He quickly ran over and lifted up the plexi-glass cover. My mom began making us malts in the mixer as I ran to join him. I was about to unleash my 4-star recital song “Four Indiansâ€? as soon as John was done playing around. He started pushing buttons like he knew what he was doing and began to play. His head began to nod and his eyes were closed. Suddenly the mixer stopped, and the spoon dropped out of my moms handâ€"I looked back at her in amazement as we both listened to the identical piano rendition of the song on the radio. He did not look at the keyboard one time, as his ears regurgitated the tune to his mind and down to his fingers. His soul was playing this music, and God was being glorified through John’s talents. That day, I saw purpose and glory in a new transparent way.

I am a deep believer that the Glory of God is displayed in many different mediums, occurring at every second of everyday. When a wave hits the beach, when a hummingbird moves yet is still, when U2 rocks a crowd in Africa or graffiti artist Banksy displays his art on the street. God gave us all different talents: some of us are amazing fathers who can relate with our kids in a special way, others are sound leaders who are transforming business around the world, some have the ability to fly jet fighters, and others can design buildings and bridges. We all glorify God when we maximize our potential, give our greatest effort and utilize the abilities God gave us to take our skills to a new level.

81
28-46, 7-13, 18-20, no these are not football bowl scores but the shooting line for Kobe Bryant’s 81 point performance January 21st. He hit 28 field goals, 7 three pointers and 18 free throws as he rallied the Lakers back to win after being down 18. Yeah, yeah, you are probably tired of hearing about it, but get used to it because it will be a story your kids will hear 20 years from now. BUT WILT, you say. Yes his performance was great, but having 100 points by scoring lay-ups on guys half your size is not quite as impressive, especially since his whole team’s goal for that game was to get him 100 points. Even more impressive, Kobe did it with no overtimes and he scored 55 points in the second half when the game was on the line.

Say what you want about Kobe Bryant, say he is selfish, a bad influence on the game or another rich man that got away with a crime. I don’t know where Kobe is at spiritually, and I am not the person to judge his past but I do know that he has the ability to do things no one has seen before; a talent God gave him and one that he has glorified God with to the fullest. For the 19,000 fans in attendance, it will be a game they will never forget. The precision and competitiveness they witnessed will forever affect them. If I was at that game, I would have been saying, “God is good�. God gave Kobe the athleticism, heart and mindset to work magic on the basketball court. There are many guys with the same physical stature as Kobe but what sets him apart? Why can he use his talent in a profound way? I suggest it is the combination of work ethic and a mindset of confidence. We all have talents but many of us don’t believe in ourselves enough and don’t have the will power to polish off our abilities. We slack off, believe what others tell us and don’t see our purpose clearly. Kobe believes he can move mountains, believes he could score 150 against anyone and will work nonstop to perfect his skills. He glorifies his creator through this whether he recognizes it or not, and we can all gain a valuable lesson from his efforts.

The Challenge
You may have seen John Langseth on TV by now or at least heard his music. He goes by Johnny Lang, and has taken the jazz-rock genre by storm. He knew his purpose as a little boy and believed in himself as he worked day and night on his music. Now he glorifies God on stages in front of thousands and continues to create unique sounds and styles that no one has done before. You may say guys like Kobe and John have it easy, they were somewhat of child prodigies destined for greatness, but in reality they are no different than you and me. Do you glorify God in your daily life? Do you see the purpose God has for you and are you working to perfect it? Stop using excuses, slacking off and living the mundane life and start seeing God’s holiness in your life.

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