The Spiritual Life and Football

Published: 8/14/95

Consider if you will the Christian way of life likened unto the game of football. The opponent of course would represent the world, the flesh, and the devil. And the football would symbolize the Christian's spiritual life.

There is no game without the football. The opponent's focus is upon the ball. And whoever has the football becomes the target of the his wrath. He will do everything he can to cause the person with the ball to fumble. And if he succeeds in causing a fumble, his next objective is to recover the ball. But it is also incumbent upon the offensive player, if he fumbles, to recover the ball. His team cannot score, nor have any chance to win without the ball.

Our lives as Christians are often like the game of football. In our pursuit of the spiritual life, we get cursed, spit upon, and mocked. We further get hit, slammed to the turf, and mauled. Satan goes all out to cause us to fumble our spiritual life. This fumbling we call sin with the results that we lose the filling of the Spirit. The solution is simple. We must recover our spiritual life just like the offensive player must recover the fumbled ball. And like the players who are drilled over and over again by their coach to recover a loose or fumbled ball, God's Word tells us very simply how to recover our spiritual lives-we act upon 1 John 1:9.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

But the sports metaphor is not mine, but that of my pastor's, Col. Robert Thieme. In his books, Rebound and Keep Moving and Rebound Revisited, he uses the sport of basketball and the importance of rebounding. For again, without the ball, you cannot score. For he teaches over and over again, that at the point of sin, there is only one way to recover fellowship with God and that is to rebound. And by this he means to name, cite, or admit your sin before God and God alone from within the privacy of your priesthood; then you recover the filling of the spirit, and then you may resume your spiritual life.

It is critical therefore that we remain focused upon pleasing God our Father. The distractions from the world, flesh, and devil are innumberable. But by focusing upon our Savior and Lord, we will hold tighter and more firm upon our spiritual life and remain in fellowship with God Almighty. But if we sin, and we will, remember, recover the ball quickly by acting on 1 John 1:9 and get on with winning the game-the glorification of God.

Reboot your spiritual life

Sports not your bag? More into computers?...well, what do you do when your program crashes? You reboot, don't you. Maybe the following illustration will be more to your liking.