Most Important Commandment
“And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength,” (Deuteronomy 6:5).

Coaches are often described by those around them as passionate. Many don’t understand how much time and effort it takes to prepare for practice, scout the next opponent, and be prepared for game night all while leading your team well and upholding your program’s culture. Many times as coaches our identity becomes tied to the sport we coach because of the amount of time, effort and true passion we pour into it day in and day out.

Coach, is your identity tied to the game the Lord has provided you an opportunity to be a part of as much as it is tied to being a daughter/son to Him?

When the Lord commands us in Matthew 22:37-38, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind” it can sometimes feel overwhelming. We sometimes skip over the most important word of the commandment, though, which is LOVE.

“We often think God demands a hundred other things from us – our money, our time, our effort, our will, our submission, and so forth – but what God really wants is our love. When we really love the LORD with all of our heart, soul, and mind, then everything else is freely given to the LORD. If we give the LORD all the rest – money, time, effort, will, and so forth – without giving Him our love, it is all wasted – and perhaps, all is lost." (See footnote.)

Throughout Matthew 21-25, Jesus taught us a pure definition of being passionate coach, He truly was the perfect example of wholeheartedly loving God & genuinely loving others. The Lord has called us to strive towards the example Jesus taught us while He was on earth. Let us yearn to be passionate in having our identity fully rooted in loving our Lord.

Throughout Matthew 21 – 25 Jesus taught us a pure definition of being passionate coach, He truly was the perfect example of wholeheartedly loving God & Genuinely loving Others. The Lord has called us to strive towards the example Jesus taught us while He was on earth. Let us yearn to be passionate in having our identity fully being rooted in Loving our Lord and see how all other details of our life fall into place.

*Special thanks to Todd Johnson and San Antonio FCA for leading this week's study.

Footnote:
Deuteronomy chapter 6. Enduring Word. (2018, July 7). Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/deuteronomy-6/