“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men...” – Colossians 3:23 (NIV)
In just his fourth full season in the Major Leagues, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw has already become a household name. After winning the 2011 NL Cy Young Award, the then 23-year-old joined the ranks of all-time Dodger greats Sandy Koufax, Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser, and he recently became just the fifth pitcher in franchise history to strike out more than 200 batters in three consecutive seasons.
Why does the hard-throwing southpaw, who put his faith in Christ while in high school at Highland Park, Texas, play the game with as much intensity as he does? Because he feels he is called to according to one of his favorite Bible verses, Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men…” (NIV) With that attitude, Kershaw takes the mound every fifth day and pitches for God’s glory, leaving the results up to the One who put him there and allows him to experience both success and defeat.
Kershaw recently sat down with FCA to talk about his Christian faith, what it meant to win the Cy Young and play for the Los Angeles Dodgers and what God is teaching him right now. Click below to watch the video, then take a few minutes to answer the questions and read the related Scripture.
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- Why do you play or coach your sport?
- What does Colossians 3:23 (read above) mean to you? How can you apply that to the sport you play or coach?
- How can you encourage your teammates or the athletes you coach to play for the Lord?
- Romans 14:8
- Ephesians 6:6-8
- Colossians 3:17