God's Mighty Men Submitted by: Dan Cheever:
Does God care about football games (or any sport for that matter)? I believe the answer is an emphatic yes but let me qualify that. I believe God cares about everything that has to do with His creation. So, the answer is that God cares about sports but most likely Not in the way we do. If the physical is a shadow of the spiritual (and I believe that it is), then the process of athletic competitions could be likened to the process of God’s eternal purpose. In sports, teams (or individuals) compete to win. Much happens prior to the competition – practice, scouting, planning, exercise, research, proper fueling (eating nutritionally), etc. Generally speaking, the team or individual most prepared wins. The problem I see with Christianity today is that many brothers and sisters in Christ believe that because we’ve already won (Christ dying on the cross for our sins), the competition is over and no more preparation is necessary. If that’s true, then why bother? Oh yea, to win others to Christ and to help the poor, and to house the homeless, and, etc. Sharing the Gospel and alleviating suffering is, I believe, very near to the heart of God. That said, I still feel the need to ask, “Is that all there is to this life?” Have you ever considered the question, “Why am I here?” Or “Why was I created?” Drawing on the above logic, the answer might be, so Christ could die in order that I might be saved, and so I could help the poor, homeless, widows, orphans, lost, etc.
Consider Colossians 1:16 (NKJV) “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”
If we are as this verse says, created “for Him,” then to what end?
And: Ephesians 3:8-12 (NKJV) “To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, [9] and to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; [10] to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, [11] according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, [12] in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him.”
What is this eternal purpose spoken of in this verse? I believe God created mankind for the purpose of showing love to His Son. That love will ultimately manifest itself in four very important forms. First, the form of a Body of Christ made up of each member of the Body (all brothers and sisters in Christ with Christ as the head); secondly, in the form of a House made from living stones with Christ as the Chief Cornerstone, thirdly, in the form of a Family of God made up of each son and daughter in Christ; and finally in the form of a Bride for His Son made up of each member of the ekklesia with Christ as the Bridegroom. If you’re not careful here, you may miss the emphasis. The emphasis is not on mankind and what God has and can do for us. The emphasis, the sole purpose, is for God the Father to express love to His Son, even Jesus Christ. And we get the privilege of being a part of that! That, my friends is The higher calling. That is why we run the race! That is what we are to be preparing for! How do we do that? That’s another subject for another blog.
