Oilers 6, Sharks 3, and Other Thoughts

For those of you who are not hockey fans, I will apologize in advance, but it is playoff time in Alberta (at least in northern Alberta!), so I cannot help but let talk of the Oilers filter into my blogs. Today I would like to share my thoughts on a passage that we discussed at our youth service last week. The passage is found in Matthew 7:21-23. It reads, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" This can be an extremely frightening passage, as it reveals that a person could go through life doing the things that the Bible says please God, yet will fail to enter the kingdom of heaven. I believe that this is all the result of wrong motives and intentions. When we carry out so-called 'godly' actions for the purpose of exalting ourselves above other Christians, or to appear 'holier-than-thou' to non-believers, or even to try and earn God's great love, or maybe even because that's just how we've been raised, it simply won't cut it in God's eyes. It is only when our actions are motivated out of our love for God and our love for our fellow human beings that they amount to anything. It should be our passion and love for God and others that fuels and motivates us to follow Christ's example, as anything less and Jesus will say "I never knew you" on judgement day.

Here is where playoff fever comes into play to illustrate my thoughts. Just as a hockey players motivation should be the a great love of the greatest game on earth and the burning desire to win the Stanley Cup, to a greater extent should we be motivated by love. Take Ryan Smyth for example. In game 3 against the Sharks, he took a frozen puck off the face. After he slowly made his way to the dressing room, the rink attendants headed onto the ice with shovels to recover Smyth's missing teeth, and to clean up the trail of blood. While some lesser players would have chosen to resign for the rest of the game, no such players are found wearing the Copper 'n Blue. Smytty got stitched up, and returned to the ice, eventually helping set up the winning goal in triple overtime. Now there is a player who wears his heart on his sleeve and his teeth on the ice! His effort and dedication to his team and to the game of hockey is to be commended. If we as Christians went through life with this never-say-die attitude, and kept our focus on Christ instead of on our own selfish motives, what would the world look like? I believe that if we pursued a relationship with Jesus with this much passion, the world would have to sit up and take notice. I think that instead of being a source of ridicule for many, respect for the church as a whole would increase. Paul says that he would rather people be either white-hot or ice cold, not lukewarm. At least that way people know where you stand. I for one would like to someday hear the words, "Well done, good and faithful servant!", and rest easy in the knowledge that all I accomplished in this life was not without meaning, because hopefully I will have done everything with God's purposes in mind. I for one do not want to be disowned on judgement day. There is one more lesson that can be drawn from watching the play of #94. And the lesson is this: the mullet is a thing of beauty! GO OILERS GO!!!!