Thursday 15th June
Continuing with my World Cup predictions: England 4, Trinidad & Tobago 0; Ecuador 2, Costa Rica2; Sweden 1, Paraguay 0.
Imagine a football ground. As well as the pitch you have the substitutes’ bench, the changing rooms, the showers and the terraces.
You could relate this to the Christian life.
The pitch relates to those living an active Christian life.
The changing rooms are for those who are getting ready to play. Maybe someone has heard the Christian message and is wondering whether it’s for them. They are weighing up the pros and the cons. This is a wise thing to do and Jesus advised it in Luke 14:25-34. My experience is that the Christian life is clearly worthwhile. It’s not the easiest option, but God is certainly more faithful than you can imagine.
The substitutes’ bench is for those who are all ready but not yet in the game. This represents those who have got everything sorted in their minds but have not yet taken that final step of saying yes to Christ. All I can say is hurry up; you don’t know when the final whistle will blow. Don’t worry, in this game you do need to wait for a player to come off before you go on.
The showers represent those who have been playing but have stopped. Maybe they’ve been injured, got tired or disappointed. Whatever the reason they’ve felt the need just to get out of the game for a while. In a game of football, if you’ve been substituted, you’re not allowed to rejoin the game. This is not the case with God. If you’re feeling beaten by the Christian life, then rest in Jesus. He said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
The terraces relate to those who are merely looking on. They may or may not have any desire to get more involved, but generally they have an opinion on what’s going on. Many footballers have lost their way in a game because they have been too concerned with what the people on the terraces think. The fans are important, but sometimes the team need to play a style that is not popular, or there are times when nothing will be good enough. Similarly, as Christians we must not be too concerned with what others think of us. It’s nice to be popular but that is not our aim. We must simply do the best we can, following the instructions of our boss. | 