Buddy Dial
— Desire
When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep."
He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. John 21:15-17
I am convinced that desire is more important in an athlete than native ability.
Bobby Layne, the great all-American from the University of Texas, is an example of this. Doak Walker said, "Layne has never lost a game. Time just ran out on him."
Desire has meant a lot in my life too. In the little east Texas community where I grew up, I was smaller in size than most other boys my age. I was awkward too and lacked coordination. It was tough getting into the sand-lot games. The bigger, faster fellows were
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always chosen first. Time and again I was the only one left when both teams had been picked.
But I had a tremendous desire to be a football player. Everywhere I went I carried a football with me. I begged other boys to play catch. To develop "touch" in my hands and fingers, I used to lie on my back at night in my bedroom and throw the football in the air for hours. Catching it again and again in the darkness gradually taught my fingers to develop "eyes" of their own.
Desire is the most important element in Christianity too. My mother helped me to realize this. Many times during my boyhood she would say, "Christ gave His all for you, son. What are you going to give to Him?"
Then one night as my mother lay very sick of a serious disease, I sat at the kitchen table by myself and thought about this question again. What had I given to Christ? I had accepted Him as my Saviour but most of the decisions I made from day to day were my own. I had a desire to love and serve Him but it was a weak desire.
I don't want to be misunderstood. I was not "bargaining" with God. I was genuinely convinced of my spiritual lack and anxious to have something done about it. But the doctors had told me that the person I loved more than anyone else on earth was in serious condition. "Dear God," I prayed, "if You'll heal her, I'll live for You with all my heart."
The following day a medical examination revealed that every trace of the disease had disappeared from my mother's body. Today, years later, she is still alive and well.
And I kept my promise to God. I opened areas of my life
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I'd been keeping closed. I started letting Him make all the decisions. And the result surprised me. A mighty desire to love and serve Christ took hold of me. And a great desire too that everybody else in the world might know Him.
Blessings and joys and wonders I'd thought fantastic before, now became a regular part of my life. Exhausted after a series of running plays, I've prayed silently and felt a surge of energy push through me as though a new dynamo had been cut in. In short, the presence of Christ is just as real to me on the playing field as in church. And why not? I belong to Him. I'm playing for Him. My football career was His idea long before I thought of it.
I believe we Christians limit ourselves. We decide just how much of our lives ought to be under God's direct command. And we decide too just how and when He can help us. As a result we miss the "abundant life" Jesus said He came to give us. We find we have little desire to love and serve Him.
The disciples limited themselves. They expected Jesus' kingdom to be an earthly one. So they committed only enough of themselves to accommodate their tiny concept of His ministry. They argued about who should be the greatest among them; they worried about the opposition of Rome, the weather at sea, how to feed the crowds who followed them. As a result they were totally unprepared for the challenge of the cross. Their desire to love and serve Jesus was not strong enough. They ran away and hid.
Only after the resurrection did some of them realize their lack. This is why Jesus cross-examined Peter and asked three times, "Do you love me?"
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In other words, "How much do you love me? How great is your desire? How much does your faith in me mean?"
Are you short of desire? Perhaps it's because you haven't committed enough of yourself to Him.
Prayer
Dear Lord, You have given Your life for me on the cross. What have I given You? Help me to answer this question honestly. If a deeper commitment of my life is necessary, help me to make such a commitment right now. Above all, increase my desire to love and serve You. I ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Buddy Dial was an All-American football player with Rice Institute; played offensive end with the Dallas Cowboys. Advisory council, Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
