AB De Villiers
It's been an interesting week looking at these cricket players of faith. I hope that you have been blessed by the messages.
I want to end by talking about AB de Villiers. He's been South Africa's golden boy in the cricket world for the last couple of decades, really, and he's truly an extraordinary talent. In some circles, he's even called a god with a small “g” because of his amazing skills.
Faith Over Fame
But maybe he doesn't like that type of thing, because this is what he said in his biography: "This book is not my story. It is the story of what God has planned and realized through me. I hope it can be read and understood as tales of His achievements, certainly not my personal achievements. And I would really like people to appreciate that whatever glory there may be needs to be clearly recognized as His glory, not mine."
Then he said: "My faith and my relationship with God are incredibly important to me, and I'm not afraid publicly to recognize God's role in my life. This doesn't mean I see myself as better than anyone else. I'm not. What it does mean, however, is that I'm sincerely committed to the Word of God and that I aspire to lead my life in that way."
Giving God Glory
This is a wonderful way to see your life.
Let me ask you: can you see your successes as God's successes and not yours? Can you see all the good in your life as God's doing and not your own? Can you always point away from yourself to God?
Give Him the glory. I am inspired by AB's ability to do this because he could easily get the glory for himself, and I'm sure it must be a great temptation in his life to do that. But instead, he sees it all as God's alone.
All For Him
This calls to mind Paul's great doxology in Romans 11:34–36: "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay them? For from Him and through Him and for Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen."
What a verse!
What a way to live your life—knowing that all things are not only from Him and through Him, but for Him.
May it be that our lives, like AB’s, are lived to the glory of God alone.
