Tonight the NFL Draft begins and players’ dreams will come true when they hear the Commissioner announce their name. The players will step onto the stage and join an NFL franchise for the first time.
When we take a step back and consider what really takes place once a player is selected and signed, it’s pretty significant. He instantly becomes a teammate with 50+ other guys, quickly gains a new fan base to cheer for him, and enters into a city to live.
Another way to describe this is he becomes connected, joined, linked, and tied to a team, a franchise, and a city.
For many players, this bond becomes strong when they have a long career and remain in the same city as the team that drafted them - even after they stop playing.
This morning, I attended the YMCA Prayer Breakfast in Charlotte, NC where 2,000 people came together. I have two things that I'd like to share about this wonderful gathering.
First, the Carolina Panthers drafted running back Jonathan Stewart 13th overall in the 2008 draft and after an 11-year career (ten with the Panthers) he retired this week. Joined by his wife on stage, he prayed an awesome prayer for us this morning.
Stewart is from Washington and played his college football at Oregon, but now he’s "connected" to Charlotte where he continues to live even after his career is over.
Secondly, one of the speakers this morning was Toussaint Romain who gave a moving and passionate talk. Among the topics he discussed, the concept of connecting, disconnecting, and reconnecting stood out the most.
I loved when he broke down the word "connect" by explaining the prefix and root words. “Con” means "with or together," but it can also mean "thoroughly." “Nect” means "join or tie."
Romain encouraged us to look at the word connect as “thoroughly joined.” I looked up the word "thoroughly" and it is defined as "fully, closely, absolutely, and completely."
With this understanding in mind, and the NFL Draftees hoping to become “thoroughly joined” to their new team and city, let’s ask ourselves what and who are we "connected" to?
Instead of striving to have LinkedIn connections, we should care more about deep and meaningful relationships where we are “thoroughly joined” with someone else. We should be connected in a way that makes each other better and impacts those around us.
We must also realize that Jesus is inviting us to be thoroughly joined, tied, together, and connected to Him. This isn’t a surface level relationship. Instead, it's an abiding and personal union - fully, closely, absolutely, and completely.
Jesus tells us in John 15:4-5 (AMP), "Remain in Me, and I in you. Just as no branch can bear fruit by itself without remaining in the vine, neither can you unless you remain in Me.
"I am the Vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Today, is our "connection" with Jesus producing fruit? If we are a genuine follower of His, then our lives should reflect that we are “thoroughly joined” to Him...abiding in Him every step of the way on the mission and purpose He has for us!
I’m Bryce Johnson and you can UNPACK that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank You for allowing me to be connected to You through Jesus. I can do nothing meaningful apart from Jesus and I desire to bear much fruit as I remain fully, absolutely, and completely joined to You. In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.
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