“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” Isaiah 64:6

There were times in my athletic career that I made “working” an idol. If I wasn’t No. 1 on the team, or if I wasn’t on the varsity team, I would work harder…and harder…and harder. Somewhere, in the depths of my mind, was the thought that if I kept working, I would one day be rewarded for all I have done.

I think I did this with my spiritual life for some time, too. Actually, I think we all do. After all, what do they tell you when you first become saved? You are told to read your Bible more and spend time with the Lord in prayer. These aren’t bad things, but the idea projected upon us, often times, is the concept of works.

I’ve found freedom once I’ve stopped trying, once I’ve recognized that I am His beloved and there is nothing I can do to earn this love, that my good deeds are filthy rags compared to His glory. Interestingly, all of that has made me “try” more because I’m caught up in the mystery of this grace and long to learn more and more about it.

There is nothing you can do. And, to me, that is what is so freeing and captivating about the gospel. Though there is nothing I can do, it’s unfathomable grace that makes me fall more in love.

By Stephen Copeland, Sports Spectrum

Stephen Copeland is a staff writer and columnist at Sports Spectrum Magazine. Log in here to access our most recent Training Table. Subscribe here to receive 12 issues a year and a daily sports-related devotional.