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Get In The Game. <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< ><> ><>
Topics: Bible, Teamwork, Baseball
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:" - Matthew 28:19
I remember well the day that I joined the team. I was immediately handed a
playbook and I heard a voice telling me to learn it. "Hide it in your heart,"
I believe, were the words the Coach used. I opened the playbook and found thousands of plays listed. I was amazed at both the complexity and simplicity of the playbook. It was so complex that it covered everything imaginable in a language that would keep the most grizzled veterans spellbound, and ,yet, so simple that even a rookie like myself could understand.
As I began to study and learn the playbook, I found that there were plays for every situation that I would face in the game. There were defensive plays that I was to execute when the enemy was driving down the field, like PLAY Ephesians 6:11, "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil," and PLAY James 4:7 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Not only were there defensive plays, but there were offensive plays as well. Plays like Galatians 6:10 "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith" and I Thessalonians 3:13 "But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing."
Then, there were those plays that referred specifically to teamwork. You know, the plays designed to promote unity and harmony among each of the members of the team. There was Romans 12:10 "Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love," Galatians 5:13 "serve one another," Ephesians 4:32 "and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another," Hebrews 3:13 "but exhort one another daily," James 5:9 "grudge not one against another," James 5:16 "pray one for another," and Galatians 6:2 "bear ye one another's burdens".
Boy, I've learned that when you go by these plays the game goes much smoother. It's much easier to execute the playbook when the team goes by these plays.Even as a rookie, as I was just beginning to learn the playbook, the Coach came to me and said those words that every player wants to hear, "Get in the game." Even though I longed to hear those words, being a rookie, I was a little scared. I started making excuses.
"What if I fumble, Coach?" I asked nervously.
"Son, you just do your very best and let me take care of the rest. Don't worry, if you fumble, I'll forgive you. Just don't fumble on purpose!" the Coach replied. "Get in the game."
"But, Coach," I continued. "What if I get a penalty? What if I do something
stupid and get penalized."
"Son, I don't expect you to be perfect. I just expect you to do your very best. That's all I ask of you. Go out there onto the field and do what I have asked you to do to the best of your ability. Get in the game." Coach encouraged me.
"What if I can't run the plays right," I whined again. "Coach, I'm weak. I'm
afraid of failing. I'm afraid of the other team, they look so much bigger.
Coach, I just don't feel like I've got the right skills and abilities. I just..."
"Son, you'll be fine," the Coach eased my fears. "Succeed or fail, if you do
your best, then you are a winner in my eyes. Just give it your best effort.
There are no benchwarmers on My team. I expect all of My team to play. Get in the game."
"Ok, Coach. Here am I, send me." I said with assurance. "What do you want me to do?"
"Run our special play," Coach said as He pointed to the playbook. "Matthew 28:19."
It was poetry in motion as I ran that special play. Our team scored a touchdown as a young man accepted Christ as His Lord and Savior and repented of his sins.I remember well what happened when the play was ran. As the touchdown was scored the crowd went crazy. There was cheering and yelling and excitement everywhere. I guess that's what Coach meant when He said, "Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."
I used the playbook many times after that day. In fact, it was the source of
guidance and direction for every aspect of my life. I always found that if
I went by it, regardless of how the game was played and who the opponent was and what the conditions were, when I went by it...I always came out a winner.
When the game of my life was over, Coach called me to Himself and said the equivalent of "Good game." His exact words were, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."
Christian, Coach's message to you today is, "Get out your playbook. Study it, learn it and above all...get in the game!"
Have a "Wonderful DAY in Christ,"
Jimmy D. Brown