Most mornings, I start the day with a nice, long bike ride. I usually go anywhere from 25 to 30-plus miles. My knees are shot from years of playing sports, so cycling is my workout of choice. I enjoy biking on the winding, narrow country roads in southern New Hampshire, and my daily ride always leads me to the same place.

The saying goes that “all roads lead to Rome,” but, for me, all roads lead up the Route 13 hill going into Mont Vernon. This hill is over a mile long and has a couple very steep spots on the ride up. Most mornings, I tackle “Hill-Zilla” (as in Godzilla) twice a bike ride, and I throw another mile-long hill in between. Like I said, I really enjoy cycling and, after taking a few too many hockey pucks to the head, I find cycling up big hills to be fun.

Often times we are faced with adversity or obstacles in our path in life. Everyone’s trials, although similar in many ways, are unique to that person. We can never look at someone else’s suffering and how he or she handles it and lay judgment of the strength of their faith. Each one of us deals with our challenges in our own distinctive way as God deals with us in His unique manner.

The other day I had the morning off from work, so I headed out to my "quiet place." It’s a place about a half mile away from my house and is right near a pond with a beautiful landscape. I go there as often as I can because it gives me a chance to get away from the world and its distractions. No matter how many times I go there, I still can't help but marvel at how beautiful it is.

I’m a big believer that God is in charge of your life. I believe this because I’ve seen how God has directed my path, even though I might not have been aware at the time.

So many times I was in a certain place, like when I played for the Chicago Cubs, and I thought that I was going to play there the rest of my career. Then I went to Colorado and I thought I’d be there the rest of my career. And then I went to New York. In the beginning, New York was very difficult. I didn’t understand why God put me there. But I realized over time that there was reason for everything He does, and ultimately, He’s in charge.

Everybody wants the glory. Why shouldn’t we? It feels good to have someone say we played a good game. It feels good when someone compliments our athleticism or coaching skills. It feels good to hear our name over the loud speaker after a good play. The problem is, we didn’t do anything to deserve it.

Paul told the church at Corinth that they didn’t have anything they didn’t receive. That means they didn’t have anything at all that God did not give to them. Most of our society today has forgotten this.

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul tells us that without love nothing we are and possess nothing. This is a fundamental truth of Christianity. It’s so simple and yet so complex. We can say we believe it but our relationships with others will reveal whether or not we really do.

When is the last time you thought my life is worth nothing? In a culture of self-esteem where everyone wins because we don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, this is not a popular theme. We often see athletes pointing to their names on their jerseys or thumping their chests when they make a great play. Still other athletes refuse to play for a team because they don’t have a chance of winning a championship. It is the ultimate in selfishness!

We have plenty of examples of the “It’s all about me” belief in sports and in life. After all, there’s no “I” in team, but there is “me”!

My older brother Steve whooped on me on a regular basis. He was bigger, stronger, faster, smarter, and better than me in everything! We would play football, baseball, or a form of these from sun-up to sunset in the summer; and during the school year, from the final bell of class until the sun was long gone. Steve always beat me until he saw I was about to quit, then he would let me win so he could keep playing.

I fantasized of what it would be like to have Steve’s skills and size, but knew it was a waste of time. Fantasy got me nowhere. Steve was so good that I never really beat him for years. I gave it all I could but to no avail. But I kept coming back . . . kept working.

We’ve heard the saying, “If it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, acts and thinks like a duck, it must be a duck.” What are we? What do we walk and talk like? What do we act and think like? Let’s face it, the reason we play sports is to win—to be champions. In order to be champions, we have to walk, talk, act, and think like champions.

As Christians, we are already champions because of Jesus’ dying on the cross for our sin. By accepting Christ, God receives us as His adopted children. Since He is the King of kings, we become co-heirs—receiving all the benefits of being His child. To learn about those benefits, we must study God’s Word. The Bible is full of promises we inherit as children of God.

I don’t know about other neighborhoods, but when I was younger we had the “do-over.” If our feet went out from under us or we miskicked the ball in a kickball game, what were the first words out of our mouths? “Do-over!”

Amazingly, God gave us a do-over! Paul wrote to the church in Corinth that when they accepted Christ, they were a new creation. The same is still true for us. When we accept Christ as Savior and Lord, we are a new creation. This means that no matter what our lives were like before we knew Christ or how many times we slip, we get a chance to do it again, completely free of charge.