Selfless Rebounding

We all have a craving for acceptance by others. And this craving can not be filled through physical things like money, things, or relationships. It can only be ultimately be filled by Christ and his love. But these desires for acceptance can also be filled within relationships where a Christ like love is experienced. But what does a Christ like love look like when it is lived out in our lives? One of the strongest characteristics of this love is selflessness.

When I think of selfless love I am reminded of one summer afternoon many years ago. Our youth group would go to a camp that was run by our church every summer. Teens from churches all around would come to that camp. There were a lot of activities that week which we enjoyed. But most of the young men were focused on one activity. The counselor versus camper basketball game. Sure the campers got killed every single year, but it was still a lot of fun. And every one of the young men dreamed of scoring a lot of points in that game.

I of course was no exception. But I never ended up playing in one of those games. That was not because they wouldn’t let me. In fact I probably would have had a lot of friends cheering for me if I did play. The fact that I had no athletic ability kept me from playing with the other campers. I was afraid of embarrassing myself in front of everyone else. And it was a good idea to put our best players on the team.

During free time a lot of the guys would play basketball. Some were practicing for the big Thursday night game. Others were just having fun. Even though I wanted to play with them it rarely happened. But one day when there weren’t many people around I began to shoot basketball. Since I was pretty much the only one there I was forced to run and get the ball when I missed the basket (which was pretty much every time). Soon a girl started shooting with me. I have forgotten her name (I believe it was Melody) but I will never forget what she did.

After a few minutes she stopped shooting and positioned herself under the basket. She would catch the ball when I missed, and passed it back to me. That in itself was an act of service. But then she began to compliment me! Every time I missed a shot she would tell me what a good job I was doing. She went out of her way to find something to encourage me about even when I missed. I walked away from the court that day feeling as if I had hit a three pointer that won the staff counselor game. All because a girl who I hardly knew decided to set aside her own needs, and encourage me.