WEEK 45 | THE RICH YOUNG MAN

According to NCAA data, there are about 7,400,000 high school athletes across the country and about 460,000 NCAA athletes. That means that only 6% of high school athletes will play sports in college.

Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way.

There are other opportunities to play sports in college for schools that don't participate in the NCAA. The NAIA is a league through which smaller athletic programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics are able to offer around 77,000 student-athletes each year the opportunity to play college sports and compete for $800,000,000 in scholarship opportunities, and for 28 national championships.

Junior college is also an opportunity to play college sports. The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is home to over 22,200 2-year student-athletes, and to over 1,500 2-year junior college programs that follow a similar scholarship structure to the NCAA, with D1, D2, and D3 colleges.

Leagues like the NAIA and NJCAA aren't nearly as popular as the NCAA, but they are definitely competitive. Being a college athlete is extremely difficult, but for dedicated, committed athletes, it is an opportunity of a lifetime.

Playing in college is an opportunity to play at a high level in the sport you love and are good at. It is a dream for so many athletes and parents. But the amount of hard work, focus, and dedication that it takes to play at the college level can't be said enough.

The journey of becoming a college athelte, especially one on scholarship, reminds me of the story of the rich young man who approached Jesus and asked him in Matthew 19, "What good deed must I do to have eternal life?"

Jesus told him to keep the commandments, to love and honor his father and mother, and not to kill anyone. The rich young man said he had always obeyed the commandments, and then Jesus told the young man that he needed to do one more thing. He needed to sell everything he had and give the money to the poor; then the young man should follow Him.

The young man did not want to give away everything he had because he loved the things he owned, and he left feeling sad. His possessions meant more to him than following Jesus.

Jesus told His disciples that it is hard for those who are rich and who love all of their things to go to heaven. He said it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. When the disciple heard this, they were astonished and confused. They asked Him, "Who then can be saved?"

Jesus said, "With man, this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." People who trust God and love Him more than anything else can live with Him in heaven.

Life is all about choices; choices and sacrifices. When you choose one thing, you are sacrificing another. If you want to play sports in college, especially on a scholarship, you will have some difficult choices to make. You will have to make some serious sacrifices. Not a lot of people are willing to make those sacrifices, but if you choose to work hard and choose the right college, it can be one of the best choices you can make in your life.

The same goes for choosing Jesus. It is easy to choose Jesus when life is hard and you feel like you really need Him. As He shows in this parable, it is hard to make that choice when you are rich and have everything that you need. But every day, make the choice to choose Jesus, choose His teaching, and choose to live life like He taught and lived.

That is the key to living a life full of love, joy, and peace.

Every day, choose Jesus.

THIS WEEK

1 - What choices are you making that get you closer to your goals and dreams?

2 - What choices are you not making to get you closer to your goals and dreams?

3 - What choices are you making to bring you closer to Jesus?

4 - What choices are you not making to bring you closer to Jesus?

Look at everything you do, everything you say, and every thought you have under the lens of, "Will this bring me closer to my dreams, and will this bring me closer to Jesus?"

For more read Matthew 19:16-28.

For a Google doc version of this devotional, click here: The Rich Young Man