There was a recent article in Macleans magazine that caught my attention. The title was, 'Why Hockey Is The Smartest Game In The World'. The reasoning according to Adam Gopnik is that in hockey you have the finest theatre to display the power of spatial intelligence and situational awareness! It is the ability to make quick decisions, size up relationships in a fast paced, changing array of circumstances. It is also a heightened consciousness of your surroundings, both to the intentions of the people around you and their location. It is an instinct that some players just have in leaps and bounds and no one had it better than Wayne Gretzky and the way he connected with Jari Kurri.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF3oyoyKZcE
Gretzky spoke of instinct and the ability to go where the puck was going to be and not where it is. In many sports there is this balance between open and closed information; however in hockey you see it all happen right before you very eyes and pivotal moments are discovered after the fact.
In the church we also need players with spatial intelligence and this will only come as we fully identify with the environment that God has placed us in. It couldn't be said better than Paul's prayer for the Ephesian believers in 3:14:19
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God
So, are we ready to talk about spatial awareness for the follower of Jesus? It is inner strength fueled by the Spirit of God. The more we listen to the Holy Spirit's promptings, the more we rest in His strength, the more confident we will be in the indwelling presence of Jesus Christ. How do we move forward with this incredible assurance? We need to recognize that is our first place, our top priority, the place we need to be in before all else. It is not adding to my strength, but an exchange of my strength for His strength. In Isaiah 40:28-31, the word for renew is better understood as an exchange and this comes as we wait on Him. This passage also speaks about love in all its vast dimensions that also comes from Jesus. This is the kind of love that brings healing not only in our relationship with God but also in our relationships with each other. This kind of love takes a revelation that goes beyond our senses.
In Ephesians 3:20, 21 we have a serious reflection on the kind of 'situational awareness' that Paul wants all of us in the Church to have!
20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.
As I reflect on what God wants to do in this local church at Grace, I pray that my leading instinct will take me further and further into the redemptive potential that comes from believing what He wants to do.
Lord Jesus, keep stretching us more and more for what is beyond our reach but always close in view for You! Enable us to make the kind of decisions that put no limits on what You want to see for all generations!
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