The Last Shall Be First

Luke 13:22-30 (New King James Version)
The Narrow Way
22 And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there few who are saved?” And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. 29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”



I just returned from a trip to my hometown, Sedan, Ks. This is the place where I was raised and spent the first 18 years of my life. The foundation of my life was laid here in this small agricultural town in southeastern Kansas. If you were not raised in a small town, or spent any considerable amount of time there, I’m sorry. They are an experience all their own. I knew everybody in my graduating class, and in the class that graduated before me, and in the class that graduated after me. I knew most of the town leaders personally, even as a teenager. Unless you came from a family that just has a bad reputation (usually it was one that was well earned), you could expect to be held accountable for your actions, or else count on most of the town expressing their opinions of your less desirable actions amongst themselves!

This brings me to the reason I happened to be in Sedan this past weekend. I was invited to attend an induction ceremony for my high school football coach, Les Davis. He was one of those people that came from a different era of coaches than exist today. He was the one who was responsible for the school’s sports teams. He ran the programs, not the players (or the players’ parents). It did not matter if you were the star of the team, if your dad was on the school board, or if you were the team lackey. The same was expected of everybody. He had conservative based rules that showed that we were a respectful and disciplined team. In the locker room, there was no profanity allowed, no earrings in guys ears, no facial hair, your hair could not be touching your collar. If you didn’t think he was serious, I saw many a player trying to dry shave with a tape cutter or getting a hair cut with the athletic scissors before a game. Off the field, if you didn’t pass your classes, if you were caught drinking, smoking, or dipping, or even being present among others who did it, and Coach found out about it, you were off the team. He expected much of his players because he saw the players as the representatives of the school. He was proud of his school and his team and his expectations exceeded the playing field.

He once made a statement that has stuck with me all my life: “You may BE rinky-dink, but you don’t have to ACT rinky-dink.” On game days, we were required to look professional. During football season, you wore your football jersey and slacks. During basketball, you wore a shirt and tie and the infamous blue blazers. Same for baseball (but I don’t think we had the blazers).
On the field, he expected just as much. He knew that nobody was perfect and that mistakes would be made. And that was okay, so long as you were playing as hard as you could when you messed up. However, you’d better not consistently make that mistake. I can remember seeing many a player (sometimes it was me!) taking that lap around the tree in an effort to enhance our mental alertness. Very seldom did Coach Davis have the superstars. But he had players that respected him and would follow his instructions. He had excellent game plans that could only be accomplished if his players trusted him and played harder than the opponent, regardless of how good they might be.

As he gave his acceptance speech in a crowded gymnasium last Thursday, his true humility came out. He made it a point to thank everyone who had helped him over the 48 years that he had coached. From all of his assistant coaches, to players who had helped him achieve the things he did. He realized that he could not have accomplished the many things he did by himself. And he closed the speech with “Remember that God is the one who makes it all possible.” I doubt he set out to be one of the best in his profession. But because he put his life in the proper order, he came out on top in his profession and in his family, and will carry it into eternity. There are countless numbers who have been impacted by this man. He is truly a hero of mine.

http://www.taylornews.org/pst/2008/10/16/davis-inducted-into-kansas-sports-hall-of-fame/