“Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy when the body of elders laid their hands on you.” — 1 Timothy 4:14
Suppose Steve Jobs had died before he developed and started the Apple computer company. Suppose Michael Jackson had died before he wrote “Thriller!” Suppose Moses had died before he saw the burning bush. What if Paul died before he met Jesus on the Damascus Road? What about if Abraham died before Isaac was born? How different the pages of Scripture and history would be!
Can you imagine how many great works of art, music and literature are buried in the graveyard near your house? Can you imagine how many solutions to the problems we face today are buried with someone you knew? People die without getting out their full potential. They fail to use all that was stored in them for the benefit of the world. I wonder what would have happened if your father had died before you were conceived or your mother before you were born. What would the world have lost if you had not been born? What will the world lack because you fail to live out your potential.
What do you believe is reason for your birth? What would the world miss out on if you die without reaching your full potential?
“We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” — 2 Corinthians 4:18
Potential is always present, waiting to be exposed. It demands that you never settle for what you have accomplished. One of the greatest enemies of your potential is success. God wants you to maximize the potential He has given to you. You are not yet what you are supposed to be, though you may be pleased with what you now are.
Don’t accept your present state in life as final, because it is just that, a state. Don’t be satisfied with your last accomplishment, because there are many accomplishments yet to be perfected. Since you are full of potential, you should not be the same person next year that you are this year. Never accept success as a lifestyle. It is but a phase. Never accept an accomplishment as the end. It is but a mark in the process.
— Ted Winsley, chaplain for the Philadelphia Eagles
The Increase, part of the Sports Spectrum Network, is a community of Christian pro athletes sharing their personal stories of the decrease of self and the increase of Christ (John 3:30). Visit TheIncrease.com for more stories and videos.
