Caitlin Clark (By Sarah Hancock)

What do you want more than anything else in the world?

A young girl named Caitlin Clark, in Des Moines, Iowa, had a dream. She wanted to be a star basketball player. She practiced and practiced and practiced. Eventually, she came to the University of Iowa to play for the Hawkeyes where my brother, Stephen, is a photographer.

Soon Caitlin was the top player for the Hawkeyes, and they started winning lots of games. Then she started breaking records … and more records. Caitlin became one of the most popular players in all the sports world. All of her games were sold out. Even now that she has graduated and is playing professionally, her games continue to be packed out.

Stephen enjoyed covering Caitlin during her four years at the University of Iowa. He was able to get us free tickets, and Andrew and I went to several of her games. It’s really fun to watch her play. She electrifies the crowd. Thousands of young girls have become excited about basketball. They line up for her autograph and hold up signs saying, “I want to be like Caitlin!”

Basketball is fun. You can also learn much character and endurance from sports. You learn to work hard and be self-disciplined.

The Bible says something similar in 1 Timothy 4:8. It says, “For physical training is of some value … ”

But now read the rest of the verse: “ … but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

In other words, there is nothing wrong with sports, but there is something far more important. Sports only benefit you in this life, but godliness will benefit you for eternity.

As I was at one of the games watching all those little girls with their signs, I was thinking, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to have that many girls more excited about following the Lord than about basketball?”

What if all those young girls had signs, “I want to be like Jesus!”?

Think of what God could do through a generation of young women with that kind of excitement about seeking Christ! That’s what I’m praying for the upcoming Seeking Christ conference. I’m praying that hundreds of girls gain an electrifying passion to pursue Jesus.

Again, I ask, “What do you want more than anything else in the world?”

It’s a very important question because what our heart most deeply desires is what we will spend our life seeking after. May it be our all-consuming passion to know Christ more. May we each be like the apostle Paul who said, “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8).

(Photo credits: Stephen Mally)

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