Go Hard - The Wesleyan Church

And the people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and obey him.” (Josh. 24:24)

While in high school, one of my football coaches, Elgin Blue, confronted me at the end of practice about a running endurance drill. I was finishing with the front of my group when he grabbed me and pulled me over to the side. He explained that he knew I was faster than I was running, and while it was easy for me to hide with the group here in high school, in college I’d be playing with the best high school players from all over the country. He was disappointed in my mediocre effort and expected more from someone who wanted to play at a higher level. His expectation was for me to be out front of the pack, not with them. As someone who had played football in college, he spoke from experience when he said, “Go hard, or go home.” Those simple words have stuck with me over twenty years later.

This week we’ve been walking through multiple passages challenging ourselves to consider what it looks like to be “all in” for Jesus. Holiness is not something we simply talk about or do halfway, but something that requires both courage and consistency. Thankfully, unlike my story of football, we are not competing against anyone and it doesn’t matter who finishes first, but it does matter whether we’ve been faithful.

Live your life at full speed.

Santes Beatty is director of multiethnic ministries for The Wesleyan Church.