Whether we are playing a sport, working at our job, or taking part in a hobby, one of the most important things is our concentration on the task at hand. Like anyone else, we can let our attention wander or be distracted by something else and the effect is to lessen our attention to what we are doing at the moment. Take for instance, participating in a sport, especially a team sport like football or basketball where the intensity of the moment demands our complete attention. A slight lapse at the wrong time can lead to an error with game-changing consequences. It can, in just an instant, change a near-certain win into an unexpected loss. It is the task of the coach on the sidelines to watch the players and make sure each is completely in the game, not just physically but also mentally. It is not uncommon to hear an alert coach yell at one on the players and say, “Get your head in the game!”.
“Get your head in the game!” In other words, participate fully on the mental level as well as the physical level. Maybe the player’s body is out there but the mind is not fully engaged in what is developing at that moment. Regardless of the cause, whether it is seeing someone meaningful in the stands or just a flashback memory or thought, it reduces just for a critical instant the most important concentration on the game at hand.
As Christians, it is important for us to know God the Father, to know His Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We should read the Bible, study its meanings and think about how to apply all of that to our lives. God expects us to use the intelligence He gave us to know Him better that we might serve Him the best way we can. All of that is important, but it isn’t the whole story. Jesus taught us that we should love God with all of our heart and soul and mind and strength. In other words, we are to love God with all of our being. Too often it seems the emphasis is on the third one on the list, and it ignores the first, second and fourth. Too often we are told to learn more and more about God and that seems to downplay the first of that list, the heart.
We are to love God with all of our heart. That is the first part of that directive. The heart is pictured by all as the source and repository of love. When we tell someone we love them, we don’t say, “I love you with all of my … mind?” No, we tell the person, “I love you with all of my heart.” It is all too easy to get into a discussion about God and about Christianity, debating with either non-Christians or members of Christian denominations that have a difference in the way they practice their faith. We can cite scriptural passages and dig up arguments and important points we have heard from others. The problem is, this is all a mind game. It all happens between the ears.
If that is you, then maybe it is time to get your mind OUT of the game. Instead of studying scripture, memorizing favorite passages, psalms, and proverbs, why not just take some time to just be with God, to be with Jesus Christ. When was the last time you just put your mind on hold and just took time to be with Him, to let Him into your heart, and to just feel His presence fill you with the love He has for you.
You are a child of God, He is your Parent. Do you study your physical parents, memorizing their words of wisdom all of the time? No, you also just glory in the love you receive from them and return that same love to them. Maybe it is time to do the same with God, to just feel the love and return that love to Him. Knowledge of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit is certainly important and not to be downplayed, but sometimes you should take your mind out of the game, and open up your heart to both receive and to give.
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