The Sports Chaplain position is new to Brentwood Christian School this year. Head golf and assistant boys basketball coach Connor White has been sharing his thoughts on the fruit of the spirit this year in the weekly athletic newsletter, all with an eye toward John 15 and Jesus’ command to “Bear Fruit.”

Here is his May write-up in its entirety:

To exhibit the fruit of self control, it begins with us all asking ourselves the simple question: Am I willing to submit every action of my life to the Lordship of Christ? Self control requires us to be disciplined. It requires us to choose what is right, even if it is not what feels the best. Luckily, we do not have to do this without an image of “how?”. The life of Jesus shows us countless examples of submitting His will to that of the Father.

In Matthew 4, we find the account of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. When tempted to form bread that would fulfill His hunger, He was in command of His actions. When challenged with proving His own immortality, He was willing to submit to the Father with his life as a human on the earth. When confronted with the opportunity of having all the physical kingdoms of the earth, He emphatically rejected it. Jesus had a firm grip on what it meant to submit His will to that of the Father, and in doing so, He provided us a model of how to imitate Him. Very rarely would we envision ourselves in these exact settings as the Lord was in, but we often have very worldly desires that we are faced with either giving in to, or being obedient to God.

In this world, the screams of money, entertainment, and fame can convince us that self control is impossible. But this is exactly what the call of Christ is all about when He tells His disciples to “take up their cross” and follow Him. Jesus calls us to put the old self to death, and be raised to new life in Him. Part of that call includes sacrificing our desires for His Lordship to be made manifest in our lives and bring glory to Him. He sacrificed His own comfort to demonstrate His love for us on the cross. It is absolutely possible for us to sacrifice our own comfort in our daily lives in obedience to Him.
So, when people fail to treat us with kindness, will we give in and let them have a piece of our mind? Or will we display kindness, even to the undeserving? When someone makes a post on social media that we don't agree with, will we lash out through the keyboard and insult our way to the “right” answer? Or will we be willing to speak with gentleness and a tone that Christ would use? Countless situations provide us opportunities to live out the Lordship of Christ and His redemption in our lives. It simply comes down to whether we will accept this reality, or run away from it with everything we have.

We are all personally responsible for our actions.

We have the keys to the car of our own life. No one else makes our choices for us, or forms the words that come out of our mouths. What a great gift that God has given us to have responsibility for our own lives! With this free will, it also means we have to reflect on every aspect of our lives, and whether we listen more to the words of our instincts, or the words of Christ.

In Luke 6, Jesus says, “‘For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.’”

Let us finish what has been an amazing school year with a “heart check” of sorts, where we consider not only what we have already allowed to take root in our heart, but also what we will do to fill it with good for the future. What is in our heart will overflow, and the actions and words of our life could be the light that changes our neighbors, friends, and family for all eternity. May our lights shine, and may the King be enthroned on high forever. Here are the words of Christ in John 15:4-8.
“‘Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“‘I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.’”