“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” John 6:9
This is the twelfth in a series of posts in a book I read on my Philippines trip and en route home. It contains leadership insights from the most victorious team in sports history (winning percentage = 86% as of the writing of the book): The All Blacks, The New Zealand National Rugby Union Team.
“Sacrifice. Stand fearless. Champions do extra. Find something you would die for and give your life to it.
‘I was in the hotel,’ says Benson Stanley, a young man about to make his All Blacks debut, ‘when one of the senior guys comes up to me, tapped me on the shoulder, and gave me two questions to think about…
First, what do I have to offer the team? …And, second, what am I prepared to sacrifice?’ He pauses. ‘Pretty big questions’.
That night Stanley and a number of other rookies were called in front of the team. They answered the questions. What can I offer? What will I sacrifice?
Then a few of the senior players — Richie McCaw, Conrad Smith, Brad Thorn — spoke about what it means to be an All Black, the legacy the standards, the players who have laid their bodies on the line before them.”
Benson Stanley as quoted by James Kerr in Legacy: What the All Blacks Can Teach Us About The Business of Life (London: Constable, 2013) 132-133.
This post and these two questions seemed fitting for celebrating ten years of daily mediations today. Wow, what a milestone.
Ten years ago I dedicated my life to encouraging Christian generosity. What can I offer? What will I sacrifice?
I reasoned that I’d get up early, spend time with Jesus, read, learn, and share things that would help others.
I never dreamed how the journey would transform me. The gain has far outweighed any sacrifice.
How would you answer those two questions? Each person will certainly answer them differently. The key is to answer them.
Don’t let your limited resources to cause you not to stay on the sidelines. Remember what Jesus did through a boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish.
Offer Jesus what you have. Sacrifice everything for Him. You will only discover as you do it that it’s the path for taking hold of life.