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Carmello Anthony is no longer a Denver Nugget. I’m sure that news is less than unimportant to you non-basketball fans; however, to those of us who follow the NBA, the mid-season trades can be a little weird. It’s strange to hear a basketball franchise brag about their star players and profess their long-term hopes and dreams, and then watch them trade them away like poker cards (fortunately the trade talks involving the L.A. Lakers’ Andrew Bynum were just rumors). Sorry, back to you and me.

As I observed this year’s trade negotiations, a persistent thought kept running through my head. I found myself wondering if I needed to make any trades in my own life. I wondered if I’m still on target to hit the goals of my life and calling, or if I’ve gotten too comfortable in the status quo. If championship teams are willing to make tough trades to stay competitive in something as temporal as basketball, shouldn’t you and I be willing to trade or sacrifice in our pursuit of Jesus Christ?

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Are we in competitive shape–ready to run God’s race for us–or do we need to make some tough, intentional trades? Are we carrying any baggage that will bog us down, or are we on track to say, “I have done the will of Him who sent me”?