Friday, November 14, 2008

Spectator - or - Player

I thought that I would share this from the backpage of our November newsletter . . .

Sports have always been a part of my life. Growing up, we (the neighborhood kids) were always playing baseball, basketball, football or some made-up game. We had a blast. I’ve also followed my favorite sports teams over the years. So, it’s no wonder that my kids have been involved in sports.

The funny thing is that all three kids have played for years a sport that I never played – soccer. I remember playing soccer in PE for about a week when I was in 6th grade. I have been watching my kids play soccer for over 12 years. I even coached the boys when they were real small.

A few weeks ago, Kendall and I went down to the soccer field. I had noticed in the games a few areas that he could improve on - so we were going to work on those. As we were on the field, I realized that a lot of things are harder than they look. And, some things hurt more than what you might think.

That got me to thinking. There is a lot of difference between being a spectator and being a player. A lot of times we think that as a spectator that we’re “in the game”, but we’re not. As spectators, we are good observers but we are not involved in the game, we just watch others. Spectators are good at complaining but we can’t do anything about it. We say things like… that coach made the wrong call, those players are not playing hard enough or those uniforms are ugly. The truth is that most spectators couldn’t get into the game because we are out shape and usually haven’t played the game.

The church – the Christian life – can be the same. Sometimes we sit on the sidelines and watch other Christians (or the church) and think that “such and such” should be done. Well, guess what? The Christian life – the church – is not a spectator sport. All of us are in the game – and – on the same team. So – get in the game!

I’m excited about our team. In fact, I know our team wins. I just want to get as many on our team as we can. Because life is about connecting people with God . . . and each other.

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