In or Out?

In or Out?

Would the people closest to you say that you were usually “fully in” with them? Let’s face it, we all drift at times. I sometimes find myself a little distracted or even a little sleepy when Linda is trying to update me on something, especially in the evening. Recently she asked, “Did you hear what I just said?”

I’m not always hard hearted or hard of hearing. Sometimes I’m just a little tired. It’s the “Eutychus” thing. Remember the account of the young boy who fell asleep during one of the apostle Paul’s sermons? Maybe you can relate. Unfortunately, he was sitting in an open window on the third floor of a house and fell to his death! Paul intervened and the boy miraculously recovered. We can only assume that since Paul continued speaking through the night, Eutychus managed to remain awake! 

This is a humorous story that many kids have learned in Sunday School. I just never imagined it making the news for so many football fans! Stay tuned and I’ll explain.

I’ve been a fan of the NFL for years, especially the Denver Broncos; even though we haven’t had much to cheer about of late!  I’m particularly intrigued with the exceptionally gifted quarterbacks. That’s why the recent Netflix series caught my eye and gripped me through all eight episodes featuring Kirk Cousins (Minnesota Vikings), Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City Chiefs) and Marcus Mariota (Atlanta Falcons and now Philadelphia Eagles).

I heard Kirk speak a few years ago at a generosity conference and was inspired again by the depth of his Christian convictions. He and his wife are fully devoted Christ followers and people of exemplary character.  

Patrick Mahomes is another fan favorite and declared follower of Christ. He is often seen kneeling in prayer at the other teams goal posts prior to every game. His language before, during and after the games is more than disappointing; however, his passionate devotion to family and football is inspiring. After I finished the series I did a little more digging to understand more about his personal faith.

Here’s a piece I just found via the Sports Spectrum website.

“I feel like I’ve grown in my faith these last few years and I think that’s given me more sense of who I am and why I play the game,” he said, adding, “It just kind of relieves the pressure of playing a football game because I know that I’m on that football field to glorify Him before everything. So it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about going out there and being the best that I can in His name.”

Mahomes said that a passage in Acts 20 has impacted him recently, so much so that he got a tattoo about it. It’s the story of Eutychus in Acts 20:7-12:

“On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. ‘Don’t be alarmed,’ he said. ‘He’s alive! Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.”

“It’s about being half in and half out on God. That’s the interpretation I took from it, and how you can’t be half in and half out,” Mahomes said. “So that was the Bible verse that kind of stuck with me, that told me that I needed to be fully in.”

When I told Linda about that she laughed and said: “Well, you’re always talking about being ‘all in’ with your groups, and now you have another illustration!” Until she said that I hadn’t made the connection. I just thought it odd that Patrick Mahomes had been so inspired by the story that he actually got a massive tattoo on his leg to highlight the importance of being “fully in!”

I’m not planning to get a massive tattoo on one of my skinny legs. What I do plan to do is to remind everyone of the importance of being passionately and personally engaged in the hard work of heart work. 

Let’s face it, soulful stuff requires commitment. That’s why we often encourage everyone to declare themselves to be “all in” or “fully in.”

• Engaging without self-promotion or self-protection. 

• Listening with attentiveness and thoughtfulness.

• Speaking with honesty, transparency and even humbling vulnerability.

None of us can always be “all in” at all times.  The question of note is this: would the people closest to you say that you were usually “fully in” with them? That’s love! As David Augsburger once said, “Being heard is so close to being loved that for the average person, they are almost indistinguishable.”

The next time you want to get someone’s attention for an in-depth conversation tell them you plan to be “all in” with them and ask them to be “all in” with you. Who knows, it just might help you to be more attentive and “fully in. ” It will also  keep you from sleepily falling out!

Grace & Peace,