Who Defines You?

We are servants of God, and because we have been adopted into His family through salvation in Jesus Christ, we can live our lives as His representatives, displaying the power and the love of Christ, using the means that we have been given to bring glory to Him. Consider this passage from 2nd Corinthians 4:
5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake.
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

Because of what Christ has done for us, we have His love in our hearts, His life in our spirits, and His life which can be radiated through our lives.  God will place us in positions where we can effectively shine that light through our words and actions.  Even though we live in human bodies, God's supernatural power and strength can flow through us to bring honor and glory to His name.  As we yield to His spirit, we testify to His presence in us and His greatness through us.

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In 1st Corinthians 3, we gain some insight into our identity - to whom we belong, and how we act as children of God and servants of Christ. The final 3 verses of the chapter say this:
21 Therefore let no one boast in men. For all things are yours:
22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come--all are yours.
23 And you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.

And the next 2 verses, in 1st Corinthians 4, say:
1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.

He said, "God is great," after his team won the NBA Championship this year, and he was the team's MVP for the Finals.  No, it wasn't Steph Curry - I talk about him later - but it was Andre Iguodala, who, according to a story on the Christian Today website, thanked God for his team's historic NBA championship, saying it's "unreal" how they managed to do it. He said that the Golden State Warriors have bonded over their faith in God, and he said they found their purpose through Him. Iguodala is quoted as saying: "We got a team full of believers. We all go to chapel before every game. We all believe and we all say God has a way for you—a purpose for you. This is my purpose."

The article says that earlier, Iguodala had told the Christian Messenger that his faith kept him focused. He said, "When people see us on the court, we want them to see God's work. We want to be a good representation of what we believe in. When you go out there, you're not just representing your country or the NBA, you're representing your beliefs. You want to play hard for Someone who died for you."

Christian Today related that Iguodala also commended his teammate point guard Stephen Curry not just for his basketball prowess but also for his unwavering faith in God. "I want to be just like Steph when I grow up—just a God fearing man, great guy," he said.

The website has the story of Curry's acceptance speech upon winning the NBA's Most Valuable Player award.  He began by saying, 

"First and foremost I have to thank my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for blessing me with the talents to play this game, with the family to support me, day in, day out. I'm his humble servant right now and I can't say enough how important my faith is to who I am and how I play the game."

Curry said the four things that helped him achieve his present success were faith, passion, drive and will.

His advice for others? "...be the best version of yourself in anything that you do. You don't have to live anybody else's story... Doesn't matter where you come from, what you have or don't have... All you need to have is faith in God, and undying passion for what you do, what you choose to do in this life, and a relentless drive and the will to do whatever it takes to be successful at whatever you put your mind to."

By the way, in February Curry launched a new signature shoe with Under Armour which features a reference to his favorite Bible verse – Philippians 4:13: " I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

So, here you have two members of the Golden State Warriors who have been designated as being "valuable" to their team.  With regard to the teams to which God has called us, our value can be determined by our willingness to be used of God.  Take Curry's 4 keys to success, if you will: faith, passion, drive, and will.  I also think that our faith combined with humility makes us a good team member with the people with whom we are called...in the home, in the church, in the workplace, or in team sports.   God calls us to trust Him and to not be complacent - you should never be that person that everyone else has to pull along.  We can be driven by our devotion to serve God and to serve other people.

Curry and Iguodala have been given platforms through which they can share their faith - you could say that they have been strategically placed at Golden State and accomplished great things, not so they could boast in themselves, but so they could boast in Christ and make Him famous.  Our success is not measured by financial gain or how much we achieve at the expense of others, but how much we trust God and allow Him to do His will through us.   As Curry reminds us, we can be successful - and God does not oppose success - but we have to make sure it is determined by our level of obedience.

These guys play at a high level and are motivated by their desire to please God and their drive to be their very best - as Curry said, we can be challenged to be the "best version of yourself..."  God has wired us in a particular way - and He has given us a new identity that is found in Jesus Christ - now He wants us to be the very best for Him, utilizing the gifts and skills that He has entrusted in us.  Our identity is not found in how good of an athlete we may be, or even how we perform on the job, even though I believe God desires for us to do our best.  His plan for us is wrapped up in our willingness to follow in His Spirit and to allow Him to work in our hearts for the glory of His name.