lessons from a soccer game
By Sophie Otiende, Kenya
There is no doubt that soccer is the most popular sport of our time. From Africa to Asia and even the Middle East, soccer fans are widespread all across the world. The differences in culture, race, religion and opinions are dissolved when fans unite and cheer for their team. Just watch the World Cup and fans will show you the true meaning of being in unison.
Being a big soccer fan, I have to admit that it is that sense of belonging that I hunger for and that always keeps me going back. When I am cheering my team, I truly belong. I don’t struggle with anyone or anything (maybe just the opposing team) because at that occasion nothing counts, not what my neighbor is wearing, not what race they are, not what they did yesterday. What counts at that moment is the game.
However, I firmly believe that our cause in the body of Christ is much larger than a soccer game. It gives rise to a serious question, “Why is it that soccer seems to have the ability to unite man more than Christ?”
In the final hours of Jesus’ life, He spent time in prayer. He offered a heartfelt prayer for His people as recorded in John 17. Why was He so urgent? What is so vital that Jesus felt He had to pray for us in the last very painful hours of His life, when frankly He should have been praying for Himself? The answer is simple, UNITY.
I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
John 17:22-23
Jesus knew the importance of unity in the body because any division among believers would undermine the church’s testimony to the world. In these last days, the Christian body face many problems that stem from a lack of unity.
What makes unity possible? In soccer, the simple answer is focus. In the stadium, our focus is the game at hand. I think focus is what we have lost in the church.
We have forgotten what our main cause ought to be. We forgot that it is not, it has never been, and it will never be about us. This walk is about Christ. Church is about Him. Yet many times we lose focus of Christ and we find ourselves in much discord.
As we look upon soccer, we realize that our unity is only as strong as we are when focused. My prayer is that when we get to church, my name as a Christian should count, not my race neither what I did or did not do. What should matter at all times is for what reason are we gathered and the answer is plain and simple: Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is LOVE.
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Loading ...fever pitch
February 28, 2009
READ: Matthew 22:34-40
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. —Matthew 22:39
In the movie Fever Pitch, Ben Wrightman is crazy about the Boston Red Sox baseball team. He rarely misses a game during the spring and summer months.
One winter, Ben falls in love with a young woman named Lindsey and wins her heart. Then spring rolls around, and she finds out that he’s a different person during baseball season. He has no time for her unless she goes to the games with him.
When Lindsey ends her relationship with Ben because of his fanaticism, he talks with a young friend, who says, “You love the Sox. But tell me, have they ever loved you back?” Those words cause Ben to analyze his priorities and to give more time to the woman he loves, who loves him back.
We pour our lives into hobbies, pleasures, activities, work—many good things. But two things should always be thought about when making our choices. Jesus said, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart . . . . You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37,39).
When it seems our life is getting out of balance, the question, “Has that hobby or activity or thing ever loved me back?” may help to keep us in check. Loving God and loving people are what really count. — Anne Cetas
We show our love for God when we share His love with others.
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February 27, 2009
READ: Psalm 23:1-3; Mark 6:30-32
Be still, and know that I am God. —Psalm 46:10
My friend Mary told me that she had always valued the time she spent fishing with her dad. Not being a fishing aficionado myself, I was curious about what she found so enjoyable. “I just like being with my dad,” she said. “So you just fish and talk?” I asked her. “Oh, no, we don’t really talk,” she said. “We just fish.”
It wasn’t the conversation—it was the company.
Did you ever think about how much time we spend talking? In what we like to call our “quiet time” with God, we usually fill in any silence with our prayers. But do we ever practice just being “still”?
God said, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10). When Jesus noticed that the disciples were so busy that they didn’t even have time to eat, He told them, “Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). When we leave the distractions of life behind, we can more easily rest and refocus on God.
Are you allowing quiet moments alone with God to be a part of your life? Do you desire for Him to restore your soul? (Ps. 23:1-3). Let Him teach you how to “be still.” And listen when Jesus invites you: “Come aside with Me and rest a while.” — Cindy Hess Kasper
Quiet times with God store up power for future emergencies.
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