An imprint is permanent mark. It means to engrave, etch, impress or inscribe. I remember as an eight-year-old, I had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ride my older brother's motorcycle. I wanted to show him how "big" I was, so I took off with reckless abandonment! Around 100 yards down the dirt road, my front tire hit a hole that I never saw. As I flew through the air, my life passed before my eyes. I landed in a ditch, and the motorcycle landed on my back! Ouch! Thankfully, as a result of being in the ditch, the only part of the motorcycle that was touching my back was the muffler. As the muffler burned through my shirt and my flesh, I experienced a world of hurt. My brother rescued me and I was forbidden to ride his bike again. Even though that event happened 28 years ago, I still have a nice burn mark on my back. It made an imprint of a hot muffler. That muffler left its mark!

Every time I compete or coach, I leave an imprint. It is either a good or bad impression, but that part is up to me. The ultimate question is not whether I leave a good or bad imprint, but whether I leave an imprint of me or of Jesus. It is so true that the athlete or coach who is walking with Jesus will never leave an imprint of himself or herself, but only the imprint of Jesus. What a challenge! Teammates and competitors either get more of us or more of Jesus. Paul writes in Galatians 2:20 that you need to die to self so that there will be no mark of you.

When you are playing or coaching, be committed to leaving behind the imprint of Christ!