Tsunami Devotional by Steve Keaton
Monday, April 13th, 2009
Title: It Is Game Time!
Text: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 (NIV)
12The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.
21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
27Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
Here it is the middle of April and I am already craving some football. Who am I kidding? I was shedding a few tears 10 minutes after the Super Bowl ended. We have seen the annual March Madness extravaganza come and go, and that certainly diverted my attention for a few weeks, but once I recovered from watching the Tar Heels celebrate their national championship, I have once again began longing for those hot summer days when young men, and sometimes young ladies, put on the pads and helmet and begin to move from being 11 individuals to 1 team.
I played football while in school and I have had the privilege of coaching football. As much as it would be awesome to suit up once again, I know I would get killed. The gridiron is no place for a 39-year-old youth pastor. Unless that youth pastor was Brett Favre! Anyway, I think one reason I am so in love with the sport of football is because what it takes to form a successful team. You see, football is different than any other sport. Unlike basketball where you basically need 5 athletes that can all run up and down a court without passing out and who can all shoot the basketball pretty decently, or soccer where you need players who can run miles and miles all over the pitch and then have the coordination to dribble a soccer ball, kick it and pass it to other players, or baseball where if you can’t hit that little white pill with a toothpick you don’t really help the team any, football is the one sport that takes all types of guys to make the team successful. It takes big and not-so-fast guys that are strong enough to push another guy where he needs him to go. It takes guys that smaller and fast who can run with great speed past defenders. It takes guys who can throw the ball very far and accurately, while other guys can go and pluck it out of the air like a Frisbee-catching dog. It takes guys who are willing to run through a wall to make a tackle, while others can kick the pig skin a country mile. And if a team doesn’t posses guys with all of those characteristics, and who aren’t willing to use their abilities, then it is hard for the group to become a true team.
When football season begins and all my little 7,8 & 9 year old football players come out to the field for the first time, I am often bombarded by questions about how they can be the quarterback. Everyone wants to be quarterback. I even wanted to play quarterback. Why wouldn’t a football player have dreams of being the quarterback? Doesn’t the quarterback usually get his picture on the cover of Sports Illustrated or highlighted on ESPN? Doesn’t the quarterback date the prettiest girl and get voted Prom King? I can’t recall ever seeing a big offensive lineman win the Heisman Trophy or get voted the NFL’s Most Valuable Player. But I can’t tell you how many times the QB has received those things. Sure all of those things are great in a fantasy world, but in the game of football, a quarterback is nothing without the other 10 guys around him that makes his job possible. He can’t pass the ball to himself. That is why receivers are needed. The QB can’t run the ball every time. That is why running backs are needed. And none of that would be possible without the big, beefy boys in the trenches, snapping the ball and blocking. Oh! And do I even need to mention the defense? You see, it takes all types, embracing their jobs and doing their best to do their part to make the team function the way it was designed to function.
We Christians are lot like a football team. Now, I can hear some of you saying, “I hate football! It’s barbaric! I don’t even like sports.” And that’s okay. You don’t have to be a sports fan or a lover of football to get what I am saying. You see we each have been given wonderful and amazing gifts by God. Each of us have a true purpose to our lives, and part of that purpose is for us to work side by side, each day of our lives to accomplish the tasks ahead of us as Christ-Followers. We are called to share the good news of the grace, mercy and love of our savior Jesus Christ with a world that so desperately needs it. But for us to fully work the way we should, we must understand that it takes more than the one who is able to stand up in the pulpit and use eloquent words to reach those in the darkness. No, it takes those who are willing and able to get their hands and feet dirty and get into the muck. It takes those who are talented musically as well as those who are willing to use their artistic abilities to paint a portrait of God’s undeniable love for creation. It takes individuals who will work behind the scenes to get everything set up and moving smoothly so others can accomplish the tasks that line up with their gifts. And instead of getting so wrapped up and upset because we aren’t the quarterback, realize that without the lineman doing all of the dirty and thankless work, there is no way the team could ever taste victory.
If we begin to realize these things, we will become a truly unstoppable force. If we embrace the fact that our abilities are God given and that the plan is for us to reach a world full of lost and help them cross from the darkness into the Promised Land, we will be more amazing than any sports dynasty ever. And our reward is far greater than any trophy, gaudy piece of jewelry or some silly ticker-tape parade. It is the knowing that we have fulfilled our purpose and helped our team reach its goal. It’s game time people. Let’s go!
So join me in the huddle. Let’s get our play, fulfill our assignments and watch God lead us on to victory.
Something to Think About:
- Have you wondered what your gifts are?
- Maybe you have an idea what your gifts are. How have you used them to join other in reaching the lost?
- How could you better use them to fulfill your purpose?
- Do you know others who haven’t realized their gifts, or maybe have but are using them?
- How can God use you to reach them?
A Few Minutes with God:
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