I have been reflecting on a beautiful sermon I heard this week that helped inspire these thoughts. I’m in awe of thinking about God and how he made everything in this world different yet with commonalities. I think a good case in point is to look at us as individual people, church communities, and sports teams.
SPORTS TEAMS
*GOAL: Work with one another to achieve a win.
*CHOSEN: Coaches pick the cream of the crop.
*POSITION: Each player usually has one specific position they excel at.
*TEAM: Every team member puts forth their best effort to succeed—sometimes sitting on the sidelines.
You lazy fool, look at an ant. Watch it closely; let it teach you a thing or two. Nobody has to tell it what to do. All summer it stores up food; at harvest it stockpiles provisions. –Proverbs 6:6-8 (MSG)
Sports teams are like the ants that show us how to work well together and rely on each other to accomplish the goal. They keep going strong until the end. Each person knows their position and executes it to the best of their ability for the good of the team.
Photo courtesy of Raymond Teodo under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
INDIVIDUALS
*GOAL: Grow in a deeper and more intimate relationship with the Lord.
*CHOSEN: By our Creator, God, to be His beloved and to bring His light to all.
*POSITION: Each person has a unique calling, through what we do, say, and accomplish daily to help fulfill God’s mission for their life.
*TEAM: The families God has placed us in and the people He puts in our path.
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. –Psalm 63:1-4 (ESV)
Our hearts have a longing that only God can fill; we are restless until we rest in God. When we seek Him, we are filled with His presence, love, and peace. His love is better than anything, and we can’t help but praise and glorify Him.
Photo courtesy of Baptist Union of Great Britain under Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
CHURCH COMMUNITIES
*GOAL: Share and spread God’s presence, love, and compassion to a larger community.
*CHOSEN: God has specifically recruited each of us to be a follower of Jesus.
*POSITION: Sharing the unique spiritual gifts God has given to us.
*TEAM: Members of the Body of Christ Team, which is the ultimate team—nobody sits on the sidelines.
The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit. But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. How strange a body would be if it had only one part! Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. –1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 18-21, 27 (NLT)
Paul wrote this beautiful Scripture passage to remind us of the unity there should be in the Body of Christ. Just as our human body has many parts that are all equally important and needed to work together properly, so it is with the Body of Christ. We are all a part of the Body of Christ, and every person we see is an integral member of the Body. No member is more important than another—we are all equal.
Be encouraged this week to…
…work on the goal of deepening your relationship with God.
…let the sacredness of being God’s beloved reach your heart.
…praise God for your uniqueness.
…be the best member you can be on the Body of Christ team.
REFLECTION:
Do you live truly believing you are God’s beloved?
What is one way you serve others on the Body of Christ team?
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. –Ephesians 4:15-16 (NIV)
