God's Coaching #199

God's Coaching #199

Think of a sport that takes a lot of strength. Football? That’s a good answer. Weight lifting? Of course. But there may not be any greater display of strength than ripping a tree out of the ground and seeing how far you can throw it. Okay, the caber toss isn’t exactly tree throwing. For starters, most cabers look more like telephone poles than trees, but they are wooden. They come in different weights, and each competitor is judged for how straight he can throw his caber. First, he balances the caber and then tosses it into the air, where it rotates, hits its opposite end on the ground, and continues falling over. If the end of the caber that starts in the thrower’s hands ends up pointing directly away from him at the end, that’s a great toss!

The caber toss is actually just one of the events that takes a lot of strength in the Highland games, which date back to 11th-century Scotland. The competitions, dances, and other festivities tie heavily into Scottish culture. At the 2009 Lochcarron Highland Games in Scotland, Sinclair Patience displayed an immense amount of strength. He won the shot put and the heavy shot. He also placed first in the hammer throw and the heavy hammer throw. And his caber toss tied him for second. Overall, Sinclair was named the Champion of the Day.

What’s the Score?

Highland games competitions take place all over the world. But at the Lochcarron games, spectators get a true feeling of history. They can almost close their eyes and imagine being at a festival 500 years ago.

The caber toss is the signature event of the games. But you couldn’t have cabers without trees. Trees play a huge role in the Bible, too. Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Jesus died for our sins by being nailed to a tree. And when Jesus walked the earth, he talked a lot about trees. In Matthew 7:16-20, Jesus says you can recognize people by their fruit. Good people, just like good trees, produce good fruit. Evil people create nasty fruit and are eventually cut down and thrown into the fire.

On the Ball

What kind of fruit do you produce? Do people find it sweet and appealing to hang around with you? Plant yourself in good soil with other good people so you will always produce good fruit. Make a list of the fruit your life is producing now. Ask yourself, “Am I a good tree?”

Coach’s Comment

A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. Matthew 7:17