Yesterday my son Jackson put on pads and a helmet and hit someone on purpose and I applauded him for it. It is a strange thing to see you son line down with the intended goal of striking another person to bring them to the ground. He did it. He loved it. He’s playing football.
Football was an important part of my life. I was a good high school player and got a football scholarship, but found that I was not cut out for the college game – too fast for me. The things I learned in football have helped me as a Christian called to lead and shepherd God’s flock.
Football is a team sport and so is the Christian life. Football requires sacrifice and so does the Christian life. Football has superstars that make the headlines, but the real work is done upfront in the trenches. The same is true in the church. Football requires you to have compassion and at the same time the ability to confront and defend and so does shepherding God’s flock.
One of the most important lessons I learned in football was to go all out or not at all. If you go all out, you rarely get hurt or hurt someone else. People get hurt in football when they ease up. If you lose your form or soften your stance in a hit, you will get hurt. You can never put your head down. Good contact comes from a straight back with the head and shoulders leading the way. The legs do the work and the arms follow to finish the task of arresting another player to the ground.
The same is true of the Christian life. You must go hard or you will get hurt. The devil hates God and all those that reflect His image. There is nothing the enemy wants more than to cause the downfall of as many people as possible.
The Christian must approach each day ready to fight. Each morning as my feet hit the ground I say to God, “Here we go, Lord. I am yours and will serve your purpose.” That gets my mind focused in the right direction. Throughout the day I have to keep my head up looking for opportunities to join God where He is at work. His Holy Spirit will inspire me and enable me to do all that He commands. Once contact is made I have to move my feet and grab on to what the Lord has for me.
Living this way is liberating. I don’t have to worry. There is no time to complain. God has things for me to do today. So whether it is praying, reading, speaking, or helping someone in need I must go all out. I do this not because I am smart or brave or good, but because God has enabled me to by His grace. He has chosen me to be on His team and enabled me to live in His love and strength. When I live in the joy of the Lord, I do not give the enemy a foothold in my life and avoid injury and defeat.
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