Are you ready to live and compete with a new perspective and a new
audience?
We all live out
our life in front of an audience. Whether it’s neighbors, roommates, family,
Facebook or thousands of fans. People watch us and evaluate us everyday. It’s
easy for us to get caught up in trying to please these audiences. But you need
to realize an amazing truth…that there has been Someone else watching you for a
long time. The Almighty God, over all creation, made you and has seen everything
you have ever done (Psalm 139). He
really is your Audience of One as He watches everything you do.
God as your Audience
of One doesn't mean that you are playing for
God, in
the sense that you must impress Him, as if His acceptance of you is based on your
athletic performance. You may think that the harder you play, the more God is
pleased with you, like He is the heavenly scout watching your every play and
when you fail athletically, He drops his head and shakes it in disappointment.
You don’t need to
perform or compete in order to try and receive love. Check this out…if
you are surrendering your life to Jesus Christ, then God is fully satisfied
with you. God’s love for you is complete. He loves you unconditionally and
lives in you eternally, because of what Jesus has done on your behalf through His
life, death and resurrection. (Ephesians 2:8,9; Romans 8:1-4; 1 Corinthians
6:19)
Your sin is forgiven and you are a new person, who is being renewed every
single day (2 Corinthians 5:17; 4:16). You also have a new identity as a child
of God. When you choose to listen to
God’s voice above all others, and live in the identity that He gives you, now
you become an audience of one to Him.
Every day and
every play, you have the opportunity to respond to God with
thankfulness for His love, through your attitude, effort and interactions, on
the field of competition…as well as off the field
(Psalm 100:4; Colossians 3:23; Luke 10:27). You don’t need to be
motivated by fear...fear of what your coaches will think, your teammates will
think, the scouts will think, or your family will think (1 John 4:18). You are
now free to be motivated by God’s love for you...because no matter what happens
in your sport, you are fully loved by Him (Psalm 103:17; 1 John 4:19). This should free you to compete to your
full potential. (Galatians 5:1)
Jesus’ power and
love can overflow through your life in all that you do (2 Timothy 1:7;
Galatians 5:22). This love doesn't make you play softer, it is a love that roars
deep inside you, waiting to be unleashed...it drives you intrinsically
to live and compete with passion, power and purpose (Colossians 1:29; Ephesians
2:4-7).
God is our ever-present
Audience of One, who lives in us and shines through us for His glory.
Ao1 Article about what it means to play for an Audience of One
Ao1 Life App available in all app stores
Ao1 gear is available at Ao1gear.com