Football? Forget Alabama!

We are in the middle of it all now aren’t we? It is college football season. Your team may be at the top or bottom of the rankings. Maybe they have a shot at going undefeated or perhaps you hope they win one game. Wherever they are, my guess is you still watch a game, go to a game or at least read about it in the paper each week. We love our football in Georgia.

I can understand why people go to watch a winning team. It makes sense that a stadium will fill up to watch a truly great football team. What I would like to discuss is why people go to watch a loser team. Why do people go to watch, or even follow, a team that has a 2-5 record? Why not change teams? Why not shift allegiances? That way you can always be on the winning team and you can always celebrate! One year pick Alabama, the next Georgia and maybe, if they are outstanding, take a year and cheer for Georgia Tech. Even better, you could change allegiance every game, perhaps waiting until the 4th quarter to decide who to root for.

Now I know you Georgia fans think I just committed heresy. Why? Because there is something inside of us that is loyal. I have friends who liked TCU when they went 1-11. They are loyal to their school. Why? It is because part of them has been knit into the fabric of what they have come from. Their DNA was changed by what they experienced and to be disloyal would be to disavow themselves.

Christianity may be on the downswing in America. Polls indicate that there are fewer people going to church than there were twenty years ago. Eventually Muslims could be the majority religion. Even now, some would say “No Religion” is the majority in the country. So what are we to do? Is our team going 1 and 9?

Perhaps our religion will end up on the losing side of a lot of social issues and we will have some of our religious freedoms restricted. If so, what will you do?

The believer in Christ is called to persevere and bless; to know that he may live a persecuted life. It is part of our DNA because Jesus was persecuted. So we should surmise that we may be in the minority. That is a tough reality pill to swallow but it is the truth of the gospel. People may look at us as losers.

So what are we to do? Well, what we can’t do is change sides. You see we believe that once the gospel of Jesus Christ has gripped your heart, it is irreversible. His grace can not be resisted and He keeps those He loves forever. Those who are in Christ paradoxically have joy in that.

So win or lose in the short run, we are His and He is ours. We cheer for Him. We celebrate Him, even if things look dark. We rest in His finished work and we look for Him to come again to consummate all things. It may be in overtime, but He will come and His victory will be celebrated. Until the final whistle blows, we bless the world, for His name sake.

Worship Well