A few weeks ago, I had a really awesome experience. I’m a fan of Texas A & M university, and we beat the University of Florida, one of the top teams in the country. It’s the first time since 2002 that A&M beat a top ranked team at home. I was a total fan- I put my jersey and cheered and yelled for three hours. I felt like I was part of the game. But at the end of the day, fans haven’t done anything to help their team win.
We’re not in the game. We’re not playing. We’re not getting our jersey dirty. At the end of the day, we walk out of the stadium. We turn off the TV. We may have spent energy on the event, but the players are the ones who put their blood and sweat into each game.
This raises some questions about our faith. Are you just a fan of Jesus? Are you a fan of church? Do you wear the Jesus jersey but not actually play in the game? Are you cheering or participating?
I want to share a verse from 1 Corinthians 3:8-9.
“Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers.” You are God’s field. You are God’s building. God can do it without us. But God also wants to partner with us. He wants us to get in the game. He wants us to be off the sidelines. What good does it do to go around wearing the Jesus jersey and not be actively in the game?
God wants us to be actively serving, actively loving people, and actively being the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. We are called to work alongside God, to actually participate, to be part of what he’s doing. It’s so easy to be on the sidelines and think we’re in the game. Think we’re part of it. Think that the yelling and the everything else can will our team to victory. But the only place where the victory happens is on the field, on the court, and in the battle.
So where in your life do you need to get off the sidelines? Where is it that you’re wearing the jersey, and from the outside, it all looks really good, but you’re not actually playing the game?
We have to get off the sidelines. We have to be in the game and working alongside God. God wants to work through us. There’s so much that he wants to do through you. There’s so much that he wants to do for you. But for that blessing to happen, you need to be in the game. What if you’re missing the blessing because you’re sitting in the stands and God’s calling you to get into the game?
What would it look like? How would it transform your life? Because here’s what I know. It’s easy to live an average life and say, “You know what? This is good enough. It’s as good as it needs to be.” But God wants you to have so much better. He wants you to experience his transformation, and his transformation happens as you get into the game. It’s so much better to wear the jersey when you’re playing than it is to hang up a clean jersey at the end of the day.