Is this it?  Is this really all there is?

This is not about football. It's about starting out the new year with resolute purpose.

Man can bear great physical or spiritual hardship, but what he cannot bear is the sense of meaninglessness. Our greatest foe is what we most often seek—unencumbered lives and unbroken leisure, lives free from any care or concern. Our ultimate enemy is not pain, or disease, or physical hardship, evil as these may be, but triviality. If a man begins each day as just another unit of time in which he wonders what to do with himself, he is already as good as dead. - Elton Trueblood                                                                        

One of my favorite authors, Gary Thomas, acknowledged, "I have tried to overcome triviality with sports, but even as a fan, I have to admit that following the latest sporting achievement is still too small of an aim to nurture my soul."

Both Tom Brady and Tim Tebow are superb quarterbacks. Some argue Brady is the best in the NFL. Few disagree that Tebow might be the best ever in collegiate ranks. These athletes not only follow record-breaking sporting achievements, they make them.

Yet the two photos tell it all.

Is this it? Is this really all there is?

After winning the U.S. Open, one of the world's most prestigious golf tournaments, Johnny Miller found himself asking the question a few days later, "Is this it? Is this really all there is?"

Tom Brady was quoted saying something similar following one of his numerous Super Bowl championships. He knows there are only so many fingers on which to place Super Bowl rings.

Tim Tebow? Well, he has not allowed fame, fortune (to come), or his remarkable gifts and abilities to thwart his AIM in life.

I believe the Scripture passage Tim chose to put on display during his final collegiate game is where every viewer's attention ought to have gone. And for sure, it is where our attention as Christians ought to go. We cannot afford to let this all too familiar and often "trivialized" passage escape us. It must be our AIM this coming year.

For by grace you have been saved, through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God has prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:8-10, emphasis mine)

Tebow's life personifies this verse. And with millions watching, he did not cower to political correctness or lose his authenticity as a home-schooled son of a missionary who happens to be athletically gifted and enjoys football.

What were his first words (to no one's surprise) following perhaps his best performance ever this past week? "First of all, I want to thank my Savior the Lord Jesus Christ who has made everything possible."

Let's logically unpack the apostle Paul's statement in Ephesians:

Purpose begins with faith-based saving and sustaining grace.
Faith is a gift from God. It is not self-generated.
Therefore, God alone should get credit for my salvation.
He saved me for one purpose ... His good works.
That assignment has been waiting for me forever.
My walk should be characterized by doing this assignment.
Doing so will fulfill His purpose for my life and bring glory to Christ.

During our Christmas break, I read most of Gary Thomas' new release entitled Holy Available, which has the subtitle What If Holiness Is About More Than What We Don't Do? It now tops my 2009 favorite book list. (I recommend it to every serious believer.)

Working WITH God and Not FOR God

Chapter nine focuses on allowing our hands and feet to become available to God for His service. Everyone knows that football is only a means to an end for Tim Tebow. His heart is simply to be available to live out (i.e. walk) the gospel. He sees God's grace gifting him and placing him where he is, and that his job then is to work with God and not for God.

Isn't that our goal as Christians? Don't we need to work with God to fulfill His purpose for us as individuals and collectively as a church? We have nothing to offer this year except what He has given to us by His grace alone. In fact, our limitations become platforms for God to do something that has no explanation apart from Him.

His purpose and calling is an incredible gift ... whether easy or hard. I believe when we see His calling as a gift, He equips us and shapes us to fulfill it in ways that exceed our greatest dreams.

Resolution for 2010 and Time Compression

There is nothing I can think of that I would rather do on New Year's Eve than listen to a great sermon by one of my favorite preachers, Tom Harmon. Thanks to the Camp scheduling our first annual Resolution retreat, this was made possible.

Tom is a great example of someone who speaks fully out of the power of a life's message. He challenged a packed tabernacle to only select one goal for 2010. But he was explicit about making it a goal that, when achieved, will have multiplying effect. It will change numerous other areas of your life. I call that the great "time compressing" goal.

So what is it for you?

What one thing can you do this next year that would have the greatest positive impact on many other areas of your life?

It may be learning to genuinely love Jesus.
It may be learning to receive love from Jesus.
It may be memorizing Scripture, even one verse per week.
It may be reading the Bible from cover to cover.
It may be learning to listen.
It may be obeying in just one debilitating area.
It may be getting victory over one addiction.
It may be faithfully exercising your body.

For me, it is simply using my evenings in ways that are more disciplined and fruitful. I tend to get lazy at night ... going beyond just needed relaxation to sorely wasting time. I can do without Beck, Hannity, O'Reilly, and Greta ... especially all in one night. That can often be my triviality.  

Instead, I want to do one thing each evening that will outlive me and last for eternity.  And it could be that one thing I do that will impact all of my other aspirations.

This year, 2010, could be a watershed year—a year when we see God work in us and through us in ways we never dreamed possible. I am glad to be pursuing Him together.