No Where Near

Tim Daggett who is this Tim Daggett?  Virtually unknown outside the world of gymnastics until the 1984 Summer Olympic Games where he scored a perfect “10” on the Horizontal Bar to win a Gold Medal for the United States.” He began his gymnastics when he was nine years old. It soon became a passion in his life. After one successful high school year, finishing first in the state of Massachusetts he had taken on the best in Massachusetts and won.  His father made the decision that he must try out for the Junior National Team. He soon boarded a plane headed for the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs for his first big shot. The first day of the trials he was blown away. Kids his own age and younger were doing” “more difficult skills, better than he had ever seen before. When it came his turn to compete, he was humiliated. Needless to say, he did not make this Junior National Team. After the trials were over the coaching staff met with each of the participants. Although trying to be compassionate, they felt they had to be honest: Tim Daggett was nowhere near Junior National Team caliber. “But, Tim, gymnastics can be just for fun, also,” one of the coaches told him.” Now I told you that to say this, we might settle to live our Christian life for fun. Now what I mean by that is we're glad we have been forgiven and are on our way to heaven and yes we would like others to go with us but we are only trying to reach then in a fun way. I know a man who is having a hard time trying to reach a man. He can't get him off his mind; he has talked with him more than once about his soul. He told me that he understands what compassion is now. I asked him, “What do you think compassion means.” He told me, “It's simple; it’s when I realize that another person’s pain is affecting my heart.” That's it! We must allow other people's pain to affect our heart. Read what the Apostle Paul had to say about the pain of others.

Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

 The very first time we read the word compassion in the New Testament it reads like this.

Matthew 9:36 But when he (Jesus) saw the multitudes, he (Jesus) was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

Then The Lord Jesus says;

Matthew 9:37 Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Could it be that Jesus is saying that the need is great but those that are compassionate toward others are few? Tim Daggett left that day with a different attitude, he didn't want to do gymnastics for fun he went home and worked harder than ever. Two years later he made the team finishing 5th place. If you and I are going to be successful we will have to fail and then not except our failure, but go back to work at it. Fifth place is far better than not placing. Never be satisfied not making the team. Never be satisfied sitting on the bench. Don't you want to be on the playing field playing in the game? Then we must learn from our failures!