Football and Jesus

Football is a game of gains and losses -- trying to gain yardage down the field to make a goal, and trying not to lose too much of it.  We have lots of gains and losses in our individual lives, too.  My greatest gains -- and some of my greatest apparent losses -- have been because of Jesus Christ.  You see, God knew me and loved me before I was born, and he called me to be his child, before I was born (just like he knew and loved and called you, whoever you are).  But it was forty years before I really began to know him.

I was brought up with the teachings of Herbert W. Armstrong.  I thought he knew the Bible better than anybody and had the truth revealed to him directly from God.  After he died in 1987, I began to understand how he had made a lot of mistakes interpreting the scriptures, and how I needed to revise my thinking.  Slowly, I began to have a greater appreciation for Jesus Christ.  Finally, in January of 1995, I was faced with the choice of holding on to my attachments to Old Covenant regulations or grasping hold of Jesus Christ.  Letting go meant loss -- cherished memories, the idea that I was more important to God because I did certain things that others didn't, and as it turned out, losing the respect of some family members and friends.  But it meant gaining a much clearer view of Christ and what he did for me. 

In 2 Cor 3:7-18, Paul writes about the difference between the law of Moses and the new covenant in Christ, and it's very plain he is writing about his own Jewish people.  Especially in verses 14 through 16, he shows that it's impossible to really comprehend Christ if we focus on Moses, who only pre-figured Jesus.  That was the change in thinking that I had to make, and that many of us faced, 17 years ago.  It took a leap of faith, since we had been warned that if we abandoned those teachings we would be punished severely by God -- but it meant gaining far more meaning in looking to Jesus Christ directly.

Paul addresses that gain/loss idea again in Philippians 3:5-11.  Especially in verses 7-8, he describes his pedigree of birth and obedience to the law, then says dramatically, "everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord."  I echo Paul's words, with great joy!  Seeing the awesome power of Jesus Christ in scripture and knowing how the whole Bible focuses on who he is and what he did, has brought me incredible riches.


In football, we keep our eyes on the ball.  But what's our spiritual focus?  Jesus.  Heb. 12:1-13 reminds us "...let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith."  Our goal is not physical riches and health, but eternal life and the mind-boggling riches of knowing Christ forever.  That will mean losses in this physical life -- but immeasurable gains in the age to come.  So let's keep our eyes on Jesus!

Perspective

Haley, our little stripey cat, watched in fascination as The Lovely Joanne swept the kitchen floor.  The motion of the broom against the floor seemed to hold Haley's attention, but I wouldn't bet two cents on her understanding the process.  And when the vacuum cleaner started up, she headed for the hills in fear!

Sometimes life seems that way, doesn't it?  Things go on around us that are impossible to understand, or that frighten us.  We aren't the first ones to see that, though.  The writers of the Bible expressed some of the same sense of mystery with God's working.  In a fascinating passage about God's offer of grace, Isaiah expressed the thoughts of the LORD in 55:9 by saying "For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."  David expressed in Psalm 139 how much greater God's thoughts and power are than humanity's.  Our ability to comprehend God's eternal purposes, his absolute wisdom and the intricacy of how he works in human affairs, is narrowed by our own limited perspective.

My life has been like that.  My mother died when I was 19, and because she still had two young daughters at home, I was sure God would heal her of cancer and keep her around.  He didn't, and I miss her to this day.  But life has gone on; my stepmom is a wonderful woman who has been a great life partner for my dad, and I've learned to thank God she is around.  Twenty years ago, my denomination started a radical re-thinking of all our teachings, leading to throwing out a large number of un-biblical ideas and embracing what we once called error.  It frightened and unsettled me, and many of my friends headed for the hills when it happened -- some I have not been able to contact since.  It has taken me all this time to begin to understand the true splendor of the perspective we have now, and that I am privileged to pass on to others.  I am awed daily by the beauty of God's grace, whereas 25 years ago, I was sure 'grace' was just an excuse for those who didn't try hard enough to obey God. 

It's been a tough journey, and there were some days I didn't want to go on.  I still don't know why God allowed some of it to happen the way it did, and at the time I doubted I ever would come out of it at all, let alone have anything to be glad or thankful for. In 1 Peter 1:6-8 we're told, in part, "There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while." I'm learning, gradually, to trust that promise even when the joy isn't clear yet. 

Isaiah, in 64:7-9 writes "we are the clay, you are the potter" as a reminder of how much greater God's purpose is than we, mere clay by comparison, could understand.  Likewise, Haley has no more chance of understanding The Noisy Vacuum Monster than I do of truly knowing what God is doing. But when these difficult things happen in my life, I pray I can hold on until the pain eases and I can breathe again, and that I will get another glimpse of the love and glory and wisdom of God somewhere along the way. 

I pray the same for you.