Are You the Kind of Player God Recruits?

I went to college with a young man by the name of Mike Kolen.

When I first met  him, he was a freshman linebacker on the football team. By the time he finished Auburn University he had been named All SEC two times and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins.

In his Dolphins career, Mike played on two Super Bowl champions and was a part of the 1973 undefeated Dolphins team.

This summer, a friend reminded me of Mike Kolen  and this story.

Mike, a believer who openly shared his faith, often began his speeches with the following story:

Coach Shug Jordan called to ask him to help recruit players from South Florida. That was in the day when boosters could be involved in recruiting.

Mike agreed to help Coach Jordan recruit. He asked what kind of players he was looking for.

Coach Jordan described the kind of player he wanted to recruit: “Mike, you know the kind of player who gets knocked down and then he gets back up, then he gets knocked down again and he gets back up, then he gets knocked down a third time and he gets back up?”

Mike thought he understood what Coach Jordan wanted and said, “So, Coach, we want to recruit that player who keeps getting back up, right Coach?”

Coach Jordan said, “No, Mike, we want to recruit the player who keeps knocking the other players down.”

What should we be looking for as biblical Christians?

We need to be the kind of believers who make plays when plays need to be made. We need to be those followers of Christ who give our very best at all times. We need to be effective and efficient as we seek to live for Christ in the world.

We also need to be those people who persevere, who do get back up when we’re knocked down.

Jesus said, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Life is going to knock us down a lot of times. We must be as those who persevere and give our best for God.

He blesses those who carry on and are not weary in well doing.

You can receive my daily emails by subscribing at waylonbailey.com. I hope you will take this opportunity to receive my free daily devotionals.

Share this post

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on email

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *