This past Sunday (as of this writing), Michael McDowell won the Daytona 500. He was able to avoid two crashes involving multiple cars, especially the one on the last lap, and cross the finish line first. He only led for part of the last lap. It was his first win on the circuit in 358 starts. At thirty-six years of age, the news article referred to him as a “journeyman” driver. What is a journeyman?
Being a baseball fan, I am more familiar with journeymen pitchers or outfielders, etc. A journeyman is a player who knows the game, even loves the game. He is a solid performer with decent skills who plays the game hard - like it’s supposed to be played. He is reliable and comes ready to play.
But a journeyman will never reach the Hall of Fame. He’ll not win the Cy Young award or be named MVP. It is possible that he might be named an All-Star a time or two, but most never are. As a result, he might be traded to different teams throughout his career. Hence the label of journey-man. Every good team, every winning team, has several journeymen on its roster. They are needed.
Most of us who serve the Lord Jesus are journeymen. We were not commanded to build an ark. We were not chosen to lead God’s people out of slavery in Egypt. We were not called as prophets with a message of repentance for Israel. We were not chosen as apostles. Jesus did not appear to us after His resurrection.
We are journeymen. But we have come to play. We know the “game,” and we play hard. We play to win. We are reliable, and we keep improving our skills. We love our Lord and His church. We love the lost. We’re not looking for one of the places on Jesus’ right or left in the kingdom. Just that crown of life.
Paul’s words are appropriate: “...be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
But remember: even as journeymen, we have been chosen!
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