When I was a Staff Pastor at a large church in
Tennessee we invited Meadowlark Lemon, the retired Harlem
Globetrotter, to come and speak on Super Bowl Sunday. Every year we
invited different Christian sports figures to speak and then invited
the community to come and hear them. As the one responsible for the
College Ministry of the church I arranged a luncheon in our
gymnasium so the college students could meet him and be encouraged
by his story of keeping his Christian principles in the media
spotlight. I also invited the basketball team of Austin Peay State
University, located in our city, to come and meet this famous
basketball player. As an activity I arranged a Free Throw
Competition between Mr. Lemon and the college players.
When the competition started the college
players noticed that Meadowlark was still in his street shoes and
his three-piece suit from earlier. He stepped to the Free Throw Line
and the players began to feed him the basketballs. This famous
player made five in a row, then continued to ten…fifteen and twenty
free throws in a row…he never missed! The college team Captain
raised his hand and asked Meadowlark how he had learned to make so
many free throws without missing. I remember seeing the look of
confusion on his face when he answered… “They’re FREE!
…Why would anybody miss a free one?”
I was impressed with Meadowlark Lemon’s skill
and wisdom. With an unobstructed view of the goal, at a short
distance, with no one contesting the shot he could not imagine
missing a FREE one. That analogy helped me to understand that there
are other FREE things we all have; we just need the wisdom to
possess them. For instance, happiness is free; we just have to
decide to be happy. A good attitude is free; we choose our attitude
every morning when we wake up. In the New Testament, 2 Timothy 1:7
covers three other things that are FREE… it says: “For God has not
given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of
love and of a sound mind.” So, He
has given us the power (to have a relationship with
Him and to represent Him in this world. He has given us love
(to share with those around us) and He has given us a sound
mind (the ability to see the needs around us and apply His
principles in our world), although some of you would probably debate
whether He has given me, or certain other ancient members of the
Board, a sound mind.
I encourage all of you to take advantage of the
FREE things all around you and teach those you influence to embrace
the same things. The free things are the best things!
May your FREE STUFF be blessed.
Max Holt, Class 02-67, Association
Chaplain
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