My youngest Child, Audra, is playing basketball for the first time. She is seven and loves the game. It’s fun to watch her improve every time she steps on the floor. This past Saturday, she played in her fifth game. She made a couple of baskets, but that’s not what I’m most proud of. In this particular game, she didn’t touch the ball until the last three minutes. I love that she didn’t let a lack of touching the ball affect her effort.
 
A meaningful reflection of Jesus happens as we play hard away from the ball.
 
People without the ball get less attention, but what we do without the ball impacts the game as much as the person who has the ball. Chicago Bulls head coach, Billy Donovan, talks about how you play 95% of the game without the ball in your hands.
 
How are you going to impact the game in the 95 percent?
 
Life is a lot like basketball. The person with the ball gets the bulk of the attention. But we spend more time without the ball than we do with the ball. And there is plenty for us to do away from the ball. If we’re not careful, it’s easy to give less effort when we don’t have the ball or don’t believe we are going to get the ball.  
 
Audra hustled up and down the floor, she played lock-down defense, and pursued rebounds. It just happened that she didn’t get the ball for a bulk of the game. Because she kept playing, kept contributing, she was ready when her opportunity arrived. With a teammate on a breakaway, she sprinted along with him…When he missed the shot, she grabbed the rebound and put it back in for a bucket. Next time down the floor, she got another rebound and scored a second basket.  
 
As followers of Jesus, we will be asked us to do things away from the ball; away from the place where people are focusing. We need to be faithful in doing the right(eous) things whether they bring us notoriety or not. As we keep hustling, keep giving effort, and keep being faithful, we will contribute to the kingdom of Jesus in a meaningful way.
 
May your effort and attitude this week not be affected by the amount of time the ball is in your hands and the spotlight is shining on you.
 
Keep Reflecting Jesus!