January 3, 2022 - Have Fun! Play Right!

I love sports… the competition… the skills… the teamwork… etc. I take it very seriously… Yet, I often hear the idea, and even teach it, that it is a game… therefore you should have fun!

Please know that I believe the game (life) should involve much rejoicing and fun! But that does not mean there is not an element of being serious! If a player comes into a basketball game and just takes off running with the ball, it messes up the game… if a player steps onto the football field and just sets up wherever he wants and takes off whenever he wants, it messes up the game… For the game to be fun and fulfilling, it must be played right! (Turnovers hurt the player and the team!)

Christianity creates an interesting balance… We are placed on the team and in the game by grace through faith… not on our own merit but on Jesus’ merit. We are relieved of the penalty of sin because Jesus took it for us on the cross. Then He rose from the grave offering us this place in the game…

Since the beginning of the church, it has led some to “play the game” (of life) carelessly because they misunderstand the difference between the penalty of sin and consequences of sin! They “get in the game” and just think about having fun and not the seriousness of “the game.”

In reality, sin still creates “turnovers” in our lives. It messes up “the game” for us as individuals and for the team as a whole. When we trust in the finished work of Christ for salvation, the penalty of sin (separation from God) is removed, and we become God’s children (on His “team”.) But “in the game” sin still is harmful! We should “play right” by avoiding sin; not in order to earn a place on the team… but because we trust the Coach’s game plan… I have reminded us many times on here over the years that the Coach (God) is on our side!

Romans 5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and REJOICE in hope of the glory of God.

Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² CERTAINLY NOT! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

Have Fun! Play Right!