The Football Match

For Christians, life is very much like the Grand Final of a football competition.

We face an enemy who is implacably opposed to us. The apostle Paul reminds us that our battle is not agianst flesh and blood but against spiritual powers who array themselves against the true christian.

In this football match, the aim is not to get ahead, as many understand this. The aim is to defeat the enemy, the Prince of Darkness, and emerge as the winner.

We have a wonderful coach, Jesus Himself, who is also a player in the team. We have a stadium filled with people cheering us on, the "cloud of witnesses" referred to in Hebrews.

Now here is the main point. Sunday morning is not the match. Sunday morning is the practice, the training. The match actually takes place the other 166 hours of the week.

The player who shines at practice but does not turn up for the real match is soon dropped from the team.

The church is full of people who turn up to practice, but are "Missing In Action" the rest of the week. They praise God loudly at 10 am on Sunday, but ignore Him the rest of the week. They join in the prayers at church, but give little thought to praying at home or at work.

Play the game all the week.

Blessings

Keith