The Greatest Ability
Dear Younger Me,
I’ve been writing about the importance of committing yourself to the local church. It’s a brave thing to do today. Everyone is criticizing the church right now, and rightly so. We’ve earned a bad reputation in the eyes of society. But that doesn’t mean that we should give up on the church. No matter what happens, she is still the bride and body of Christ.
We must be brave in our commitment to the local church. As I wrote earlier, “BRAVE” is an acronym that describes the five responsibilities I want you to make to the local church. I wrote to you about the first two earlier.
Today I want to talk to you about the third commitment represented by the letter “A” in “BRAVE.” It stands for availability.
Someone once said that a person’s greatest ability is his availability. As you know, I’m a massive fan of the Los Angeles Lakers. Currently, we have two of the top ten players in the league playing for our team — Lebron James and Anthony Davis. But even with these two talented players, we’re on pace to miss the playoffs again for the second year.
Why is this? Well, the answer is Anthony Davis. Instead of playing in the games, AD is consistently watching from the sidelines due to injury. Instead of praising his talents, NBA commentator Charles Barkley mockingly calls him “Street Clothes.”
It doesn’t matter how talented, experienced, and intelligent you are if you are unavailable. That’s just as true for the church as it is for the NBA.
Hebrews 10:24–25 says,
“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
To do anything this verse asks us to do requires being available for the church. Your presence is the greatest gift you can give anyone. When you show up, you bring all of yourself to that relationship. You bring your hurts, dreams, experience, wisdom, love, and whole heart with you when you choose to be present.
One of my mentors told me that the greatest gift I can give to any person or group is my “transformed and transforming presence.” To have people who are committed to showing up fully and consistently is vital to the life of the church community.
But that is becoming rarer today. We are getting into the habit of “giving up meeting together.” Being available has more to do with your priorities than your schedule. It’s also much more than consistent attendance on Sundays. That’s just the start.
Being available for others is one of those things that is simple to understand but hard to do. That’s because it requires us not to think only about ourselves. Being available requires us to reprioritize our lives. It means that we don’t just live for ourselves. We don’t pack our schedules with only things we want to do, but we leave margins so that we can be available for others.
Remember, your greatest ability is your availability. Be available for the people in the church. Give them the gift of your “transformed and transforming presence.”
Trust me,
Your Future Self
