“Your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
—Matthew 6:6 (NKJV)
I remember the moment when I knew that I always wanted to be an amateur Christ-follower.
I was driving along a gravel road when I saw some children playing soccer. They were barefoot, the goal posts were makeshift, the field was dust. They were excited, passionate, and having great fun. They were playing soccer for the love of it!
That evening, on the news channel, I listened to our country’s soccer professional players give their reasons for refusing to play. Their pay demands had not been met by the national soccer association.
That was the moment I knew that I always wanted to be an amateur Christ-follower. Someone continually learning to follow and serve Jesus, simply out of love for him.
Let me be clear. I know the importance of accreditation, standards, accountability. I myself belong to professional bodies regarding aspects of my own work and ministry - roles.
However, in my heart I always want to be an amateur Christ-follower.
I always want to be an amateur in prayer. There are no experts when it comes to prayer. I will always remain a beginner. When I need someone to pray for me, I ask someone who prays because they are in love with God.
I always want to be an amateur in loving. Learning to express the love of Christ has been a lifelong longing. My greatest failures in life have been those in loving. Thankfully, God doesn’t give up on me in my failures and helps me to begin again.
I always want to be an amateur in spiritual companionship. To accompany another seeker along the Way remains one of the great privileges in the Christian life. In the words of D T Niles though, it is definitely for me a case of one beggar helping another beggar to find food.
Contemporary life has been carved up into compartments, each with their own professional experts who are regarded as having the most important say in their spheres. I remain deeply grateful for their knowledge and skill acquired through years of academic studies. My life has been literally saved through the expertise of the medical professionals.
However, when it comes to following Christ, I do not want to be an expert. I always want to be an amateur.
In sharing this reflection, I wonder how you respond to this descriptive word “amateur” when used in relation to our life as a Jesus-follower.
Does it suggest incompetence, lack of expertise, and the absence of real knowledge? Or does it perhaps come across as an invitation to find our deepest identity beyond our professional roles as persons loved by Christ?
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