Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 (NLT)
Every Major League Baseball team has a Field Manager. Every Manager has several specialized Assistant Coaches. Each assistant coach is responsible for helping the Manager train the team’s players. The Manager has other responsibilities, but we’re only looking at the relationship between training and practice today.
MLB players begin training in the spring of each year and they practice throughout the entire season and right on through until the last playoff game is played. They practice with one another and they practice during games. They never stop using what they learn or they lose their skills. They understand using what they learn wins games. They also know they will never be named Most Valuable Player of the game, series or year, they will not earn the Golden Glove Award, the Cy Young Award, or be inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame if they do not practice what they learn.
Training happens when there’s a teacher and a learner.
training – NOUN
the action of teaching a person or animal a particular skill or type of behavior.
Oxford Dictionaries · Bing Translator
Effective training involves both learning (understanding with the mind) and practice (use of what is learned).
learning – NOUN
the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, study, or by being taught.
Oxford Dictionaries · Bing Translator
practice – NOUN
the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method as opposed to theories about such application or use.
repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it.
Oxford Dictionaries · Bing Translator
Training requires practice.
What’s the spiritual parallel?
Jesus gives all of His followers Holy Spirit to teach us truth. Holy Spirit is like our Field Manager. And Holy Spirit has many assistant coaches to help Him train us in righteousness. Those assistant coaches are pastors, teachers, and other spiritually mature Jesus-followers. They can also be circumstances, challenges, and complete strangers. But…
We must be willing learners.
What does it look like when Jesus-followers are willing learners? We read our Bibles, pray, participate in worship (whether in person or on-line), and intentionally spend time with other Jesus-followers. We seek to know God’s truth. We do not turn our eyes away, change, or ignore truth. But knowledge is only half of the equation.
We must practice what we learn!
The early days of practicing something new will often result in errors.
Think about a baby who’s learning to eat. Babies see others eating. They know what to do, but making their eyes and hands cooperate is no easy feat. Take eating Cheerios. It usually goes something like this…
Someone puts two or three Cheerios on the highchair tray.
The baby knows he needs to pick it up, but his struggle is real. Cheerios are bumped and scattered around the tray and onto the floor as he tries to guide his hand to the Cheerio and open and close his fingers around it.
Once a Cheerio is in hand, his hand struggles to find his mouth. It waves all around in front of him while his head bobs and weaves trying to make the connection between hand and mouth.
Practice is not a once and done scenario. Just like the baby with the Cheerio, the process is repeated multiple times and for many days (or years) before success comes.
Patient perseverance when we practice brings success.
Later, that same baby will eat Cheerios off his highchair tray without having to think about it at all. One day, he will feed himself with a fork while enjoying a meal with friends.
The same is true for us when it comes to practicing what we’ve learned. Knowing what to do and doing it are two separate things. Perseverance and practice will bring success. But the only way to practice is to get on the field of play. Some of our practice will be done with other Jesus-followers and some of our practice will involve those who are not followers of Jesus. Both are crucial times of practice. Learning with and practicing alongside other Jesus-followers allows us safe opportunities for correction. Practicing with those who are not Jesus-followers allows us opportunities to share what we’re learning with them.
Repetition definitely creates muscle memory, but let’s save that for next time.
Between Then and Now…
1 Be an intentional learner. Spend time reading God’s word, the bible, every day. Start by asking Holy Spirit to teach you and protect you from misunderstanding or taking what you read out of context.
2 Practice what you learn. Ask Jesus to help you be alert to opportunities to apply what you are learning. Ask Him for boldness to practice what He’s teaching you. Do not allow your fear of making mistakes keep you from doing what you know is right.
3 Be gentle with yourself and don’t give up! Persevere with patience. You’ll never do those good things God’s created you to do in Jesus if you don’t practice. It may take time, but you will get your Cheerio if you don’t give up first.
Digging Deeper:
Proverbs 1:7, Proverbs 15:14, John 8:31-32, John 14:23-26, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:8-10, 2 Timothy 1:7, 2 Thessalonians 3:5, Hebrews 5:11-6:3, James 1:22 & James 4:17
If you have not yet met Jesus, you can meet Him today. He created you. He loves you. He wants you to be a part of His family. I encourage you to step into the life He created you to live. You will still have the troubles of this world, but you will no longer be facing them alone. I’m praying for you! https://peacewithgod.net/mobile/?utm_source=Microsoft&utm_medium=CPC&utm_term=HowToGoToHeaven&utm_campaign=USPWGMobileSearchMic
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.