Chapel with UGA Women’s Tennis Team at the 2010 NCAA Regionals

In the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, verses 25-30, Jesus said, “I praise you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to infants. Yes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure. All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal Him.Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

This past weekend, me, along with our intern, Emily Deans, had the opportunity to spend time with the defending ’09 SEC Champion Georgia Women’s Tennis Team. Our Dawgs swept Harvard on Friday to advance to the 2nd round of Saturday’s NCAA Regionals against the Clemson Tigers. On Friday night, me and Emily met the team at their hotel and had some time in the Word together. The verses above were the central passages of our talk that evening.

The longer I minister to these female athletes, the more I realize how much of a sacrifice they’ve made to be at this level of competitive athletics. Many of the sacrifices have been in the areas of their personal lives. It’s very hard to maintain close relationships with anyone-- other than your parents—when you have to train 5-6 hours a day, plus maintain your academic schooling. When they’re not training, they’re studying; and when they’re not studying they’re acquiring medical services for their injuries. When they’re not getting treatment, they’re eating and sleeping! There may be some time for internet messaging and texting a few family members, but, most of their time is spent with the people associated with their sport.

Imagine having this kind of life for 18-20 years straight! That’s all an average elite athlete experiences. No wonder they’re looking for various ways—some good, some not-so-good---to relieve stress and anxieties associated with their lifestyles! We know that many times they find temporary relief from alcohol, relationships and casual sex.

Well, where can an athlete find true real relief and true REST? Jesus has the answer. Himself. From the passage above, we find out several important facts about God and His Son, Jesus Christ:

• It gives God pleasure to reveal things to us about Himself.

• God reveals Himself through His one and only Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus “reveals the Father to whom He desires”(v.27).

• God reveals Himself and His ways to those who come to Him in a child-like trust. The proud and boastful will not see God (v. 25).

• It is impossible to know God apart from knowing His Son! “Know” in Greek is “ginosko,” which means “to seek to know or investigate; an understanding that leads to a relationship that’s of value and importance.”

As we spent time with the Lady Dawgs, I shared a story from Andre Agassi’s recent book called Open. We discussed how it’s easy to think that God relates to us as other people do in our human relationships. On this point, we read an excerpt from Open in which Agassi relays a story about his father from when he was 10 years old: “My father likes to shoot the hawks with his rifle. Our house is blanketed with his victims, dead birds that cover the roof as thickly as tennis balls cover the court. My father says he doesn’t like hawks because they swoop down on mice and other defenseless desert creatures. He can’t stand the thought of something strong preying on something weak. (This holds true when he goes fishing: whatever he catches, he kisses its scaly head and throws it back.) Of course he has no qualms about preying on me, no trouble watching me gasp for air on his hook. He doesn’t see the contradiction. He doesn’t care about contradictions. He doesn’t realize that I’m the most defenseless creature in this godforsaken desert. If he did realize, I wonder, would he treat me differently?” Agassi goes on to explain how his relationship with his father was dependent upon how well he did in tennis. If he played well and won, his father was happy. If he lost, his father was a tyrant and verbally abusive.

For some athletes, they’ve been taught all their life that if they are successful, they are loved. If they win, they are accepted and valued.

God, on the other hand, knows our helpless spiritual condition. He knows that we are sinful and cannot do anything to change that. It’s in our nature and we’re born to make mistakes (Romans 5:6). We may be able to work our way to a sports championship or a successful career, but, we cannot work our way to God’s holy and perfect nature. We will always fall short (Romans 3:23).

What is the answer? Come to Jesus Christ. Rest in Him. Confess that you can’t do this life on your own. Stop trying to find your self-worth in performance. True rest only comes from God through His Son. If we know the Son, we will know the peace of the Father!