The Stanley Cup - Boge

Well, there you have it. The Ducks take it. I thought for sure the Cup would rest north of the border for the first time in…well, a long time…can anyone say Montreal Canadians in 1993? Too bad for the Sens, but as a Winnipegger I’m particular happy for three notable connections to the Anaheim Ducks. Teemu Selanne and Randy Carlyle played for the Winnipeg Jets and Carlyle later coached the Manitoba Moose. Also, Dustin Penner of Winkler, Manitoba hoisted the cup last night. Neat to see the connection there.

Watching the game last night reminded me of the importance of making use of our talents. Here are all these guys who worked tirelessly for years to hone their hockey skills. I looked up Matthew 25 after the game – the parable where three servants are given 5, 2, and 1 talent. It makes the point that it’s not so much what we’ve been given, but what we do with what we’ve been given that makes the difference.

So it begs us to ask the question, are we truly using our talents to the very best of our ability for the furtherance of God’s Kingdom and to the building of His Church? To whom much has been given, much is expected. Or do we have ‘latent’ talent sitting in a closet left there for whatever excuse we might have, not unlike the lame excuse the one-talent individual gave in the story.

Similar to how hockey players of the winning team are awarded the cup at the end of the successful season, so those of us who have surrendered our lives to Jesus Chris will be given a crown when we reach eternity. Between now and then, we should be encouraged to go all out and be focused on our goal, much the way hockey players are in the playoffs.

Now if only we could find a way to get the cup back in Canada…