Published on 01/23/2007

Our Father knows every sin we've ever committed and every sin we have yet to commit. And yet he doesn't conclude that we are what we are. He is employing every resource in the universe to help us grow to be like Jesus (Romans 8:29).

Commentary

That was Bill Parcells's most famous and oft-repeated statement as coach of the Dallas Cowboys. After his surprise announcement yesterday that he is retiring, it's the mantra by which he is being evaluated in today's Dallas Morning News and sports outlets around the country. The certain future Hall of Fame coach won two Super Bowls with the New York Giants and took the New England Patriots to a third. He is leaving a team which is far more talented than the one he inherited. But his 34-32 record after four seasons is the standard by which he will be remembered here in Dallas. In the National Football League there are winners and there are losers, and no one in between.

The coach's mantra extends far beyond coaching. When President Bush delivers his State of the Union address tonight, we will evaluate the speech based on what he said, not what he meant to say. Today's New York Times reports that Pfizer will cut 7,800 workers as the pharmaceuticals giant tries to cope with competition from cheaper generic drugs and product setbacks. The company is what its bottom line says it is.

I'm sure Coach Parcells would say that this is the way of the world. You'll be evaluated today based on your performance, not your intentions. You'll decide whether to keep reading this essay because of what I write, not what I meant to say. You might be sympathetic if I were typing with a sprained wrist or trying to use a virus-infested laptop. But all that really matters are the words you can see where you're sitting today, not the circumstances where I am.

The good news is that the way we look at the world is not the way our Creator does. David prayed, "O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away…Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely" (Psalm 139:1-2, 4). Our Father knows every sin we've ever committed and every sin we have yet to commit. And yet he doesn't conclude that we are what we are. He is employing every resource in the universe to help us grow to be like Jesus (Romans 8:29). He is using your circumstances and challenges on earth to make you ready for an eternity in his perfect presence in Paradise.

A man out for a walk happened upon a stonemason on his knees, carving a rock. He asked what the man was doing. The craftsman pointed at the elevated steeple of the church building he was helping to construct and said, "I'm shaping this down here to fit up there." Ask God to use the events of this day to make you more like Jesus, and cooperate with his Spirit's work in your life. And he'll do the same with you.