On the Winning Team

The band builds to a crescendo. The cheerleaders soar above the field as they move from one routine to another. Everyone in the stands comes to their feet. With a roar from the crowd the team streams onto the field ready to prove they are the champions everyone hopes they are. It’s called the “home field advantage.”

Whether you are on the team, roaming the sidelines or in the stands, being a part of this experience is thrilling. There is a sense of excitement that borders on ecstasy. It is really not that hard to understand why people will pay hundreds of dollars and traveling thousands of miles to spend a few hours reveling in opportunity to be part of the team.

To extend their experience of being part of the team people will even change their behavior during the week. Perhaps you know some folks who decorate their house, their office or their car with team insignia. I have a friend who is dressed in orange and blue nearly every time I see him. When we are down on the river walk, Laine enjoys exchanging a “Roll Tide” with complete strangers. She knows they’re safe because they are wearing a big crimson “A” on their shirt or hat or handbag.

Sometimes I’m afraid we forget that as followers of Christ we are part of an even greater team. After naming about a dozen great heroes of the faith and alluding to all the others who demonstrated their faithfulness to God over the centuries, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews paints a picture of the faithful running into a stadium filled with all these witnesses—martyrs of the faith. “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,” he urges (Hebrews 12:1c).

When you share the good news with another person, it is essential to let them know that once they make the decision to confess their faith in Jesus Christ, now they are a part of something that is bigger than any national championship or World Series victory. Now they are a part of the Kingdom of God.

It may be hard to see, but there are times and places where, if we help one another look in the right direction, we can catch glimpses of what it means to be counted as one of God’s children. As “Christ our invites to his table all who love him, who earnestly repent of their sin and seek to live in peace with one another” once again this Sunday, I pray that you may experience the thrilling excitement with a new sense of passion that encourages you to share it with someone who is looking for a place to belong.