It's Not Random

Given the storied history of the San Antonio Spurs franchise, it's hard to believe that the organization had never had a team open a regular season with five consecutive wins before this year.

But led by the dominant play of superstar Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio now stands at 5-0 following a 107-101 victory over the Miami Heat on Thursday evening.

Though it is only a five-game sample size, it certainly appears that Wembanyama might be poised to make his first legitimate run at an MVP award if he remains healthy.

Through the first five contests, Wembanyama is averaging over 30 points and 14 rebounds per game, while shooting better than 56% from the field. And as if that were not enough, he’s also leading the league with an astonishing 4.8 blocks per game.  

There’s no denying that Wembanyama is the primary reason the Spurs remain undefeated as the calendar turns to November, but that doesn’t mean he’s the only reason. Many of San Antonio's other young contributors have also taken a tremendous step forward, helping propel the Spurs to their best start in franchise history.

Speaking of his team's success early in the campaign, Wembanyama succinctly stated, "It's not random. We didn't get those five wins randomly. We worked for it."

For teams or individuals in sports, success doesn't come by accident but from intentional effort invested on the front end.

The same rings true for us as followers of Jesus who have been saved by His grace through faith.

There are many admirable goals we might have for ourselves in our spiritual lives. Maybe we want to improve as parents, grow closer to our spouse, be more intentional in giving and serving, or increase our understanding of God's Word.

While all of those are tremendous aspirations, we will never accomplish our spiritual goals by accident. Growing in godliness requires intense effort and disciplined consistency.

Proverbs 14:23 (NASB) says, "In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty."

Although the context of that verse deals explicitly with money, the principle is certainly true in all areas of our lives. There is profit in working hard to become more and more like Jesus, but merely talking about how you want to grow in sanctification will not lead you anywhere.

Pastor Paul Washer once told a story about a man who listened to a world-class violinist perform on his instrument. At the end of the incredible performance, the man went to the violinist and said, "I would give my life to be able to play like you." The violinist responded, "I did give my life to play like this."

When we think about the most godly people we know, we may believe they got there by accident. But the truth of the matter is that nobody grows in holiness or spiritual maturity by chance. “It's not random.” The more we “work for it” and actively pursue Christ, the more results we will see.

1 Timothy 4:7 (ESV) tells us, "Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather, train yourself for godliness."

It is certainly biblically accurate to say that God is actively involved in the process of conforming His people to look increasingly like Jesus. We must rely on His transforming power, as He is the one who ultimately does the growing. However, we must understand that becoming more godly is a synergistic effort, meaning it requires our effort as well.

Perhaps no passage in Scripture demonstrates more profoundly how we and God are both involved in the process of sanctification than Philippians 2:12-13 (LSB): "So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

As believers, we can rejoice in the fact that God is at work in us! At the same time, we should also be encouraged and motivated to put in the effort required to see transformative growth.

Today, let's move beyond simply talking about the goals we have in our lives of faith. Let’s strive, with all the energy God supplies, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, to work intentionally towards greater godliness. After all, “It's not random.”

I'm Matt Osborne, and you can UNPACK that!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you that You are so faithful to work in my life. Please help me to be disciplined and intentional in taking steps to grow in my faith. I pray that my life increasingly conforms to the image of Christ. In Jesus' name, I pray, Amen.