Well, the Netball season has kicked off and my coaching attempts are yet to produce anything close to a win (that’s what happens when your girls get put in a high division…)

That aside, it has caused me to reflect on the phrase ‘hungry for the ball’ – which some of my team is!

It’s one of those clichéd, sport phrases that somewhat get my goat, and yet at the same time, have a pearl of truth to them.

If you’re not hungry for the ball, you’re not going to win. You’re not going to chase it up, follow every lose ball, cover every gap or run headlong for it.

It’s a lot like life really. If you want a new car, a promotion, a new house… well, you’ve got to be hungry for it. You’ve got to strive for it, or you won’t get it.

It’s a lot like being a Christian really. Jesus said this in his famous Sermon on the Mount:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

In declaring this, Jesus does two things:

1. Implicitly states that we should want to be righteous; to live a life that pleases God.
2. Promises that those who aim to please God will receive satisfaction in their endeavour.

Now, obviously plenty of people would say, “Well, I don’t care about pleasing God and don’t care that he promises satisfaction in this.”

I get that.

But don’t miss the blessing.

Living a life that pleases God is not easy. To hunger and thirst after something has a connotation of deep striving, or pushing yourself to the limits, of getting outside of the comfort zone.

I’ll be the first to say that I understand why that doesn’t appeal to many.

But why not have the guts to go on an adventure with God?

It seem be a bit too Bear Grylls meets ascetic monk for you…but what are you hungry for?

Hungry for the ball? The car? The promotion? The house?

The Lord?

Don’t miss the blessing.

Yours in still trying to get a goal in,

Alison