― Helen Keller
I was watching my 7 years old grandson warm up with his team before their soccer game. If you ever want to be cheered up, watch a group of young kids play any type of sports. There are two little girls on his team who always want to hold hands while they play. There is one little girl who is always smiling as she runs on the outside of the pack. They all perform random cartwheels no matter where the ball is. And my grandson fits right in.
My grandson is not aggressive. He likes to hang back at a safe distance, but over the weeks I have seen him take a few more chances each game. Though a week ago when my daughter was becoming frustrated with his lack of aggression, she told him to get out there and play like "Sonic" He is a video game junky and Sonic is a hedgehog who rolls up in a ball and really scoots through obstacles. I'm not quite sure how it happened, because he ran out on the field with a whole new excitement, but in the middle of the huddle of kids surrounding the ball and moving down the field as a unit, my grandson sat down, crossed his legs and began to meditate. Yep, arms out, middle finger tips touching thumbs and eyes closed. That was a good belly laugh for most of us. Not my daughter.
In the game behind us I watched a young boy get control of the ball and cruise down the field to make a goal with very little resistance. Of course he burst into tears when he realized he had put the ball in the other teams goal. I also listened in while a little boy told a female team mate that winning didn't matter as long as they enjoyed playing.
On this night, watching the team warm up, I noticed a significant improvement in teamwork. I was impressed. It made me think of how the body of Christ should work. Everyone has a role. God has a game plan for each of us. We all need to do our part. Plant a seed and kick the ball to another player for the harvest. We have teachers, preachers, prayer warriors, comforters, encourager's, etc. etc. Everybody has a place, an importance.
Then it happened. The giants came onto the field. The other team somehow appeared much larger than the kids on our team. Wait! This isn't fair. One of those little boys keeps shoving kids on our team. As a gramma I threatened to go find his gramma and sit next to her. I would probably just pray for her if I would have found her. Suddenly it wasn't as fun to watch those kids play. Their team work fell all to pieces. It was nice to practice, warm up, be a great team, just like in the body of Christ, but we don't like to admit there is an opposing team. Some of us deny the other team even exists. Others of us blame everything on the other team. But we have to remember who wins. Even though we know who wins we still need to participate and do our part. We have the best coach.
“Have you ever wondered why you did not rapture and go to heaven the day you became a Christian? It is because God has work for you to do here on earth! Having gone to heaven, Jesus expects you to be his body on earth. You are his hands, his feet, his voice.”
― Pedro Okoro, Crushing the Devil: Your Guide to Spiritual Warfare and Victory in Christ
My grandson is not aggressive. He likes to hang back at a safe distance, but over the weeks I have seen him take a few more chances each game. Though a week ago when my daughter was becoming frustrated with his lack of aggression, she told him to get out there and play like "Sonic" He is a video game junky and Sonic is a hedgehog who rolls up in a ball and really scoots through obstacles. I'm not quite sure how it happened, because he ran out on the field with a whole new excitement, but in the middle of the huddle of kids surrounding the ball and moving down the field as a unit, my grandson sat down, crossed his legs and began to meditate. Yep, arms out, middle finger tips touching thumbs and eyes closed. That was a good belly laugh for most of us. Not my daughter.
In the game behind us I watched a young boy get control of the ball and cruise down the field to make a goal with very little resistance. Of course he burst into tears when he realized he had put the ball in the other teams goal. I also listened in while a little boy told a female team mate that winning didn't matter as long as they enjoyed playing.
On this night, watching the team warm up, I noticed a significant improvement in teamwork. I was impressed. It made me think of how the body of Christ should work. Everyone has a role. God has a game plan for each of us. We all need to do our part. Plant a seed and kick the ball to another player for the harvest. We have teachers, preachers, prayer warriors, comforters, encourager's, etc. etc. Everybody has a place, an importance.
Then it happened. The giants came onto the field. The other team somehow appeared much larger than the kids on our team. Wait! This isn't fair. One of those little boys keeps shoving kids on our team. As a gramma I threatened to go find his gramma and sit next to her. I would probably just pray for her if I would have found her. Suddenly it wasn't as fun to watch those kids play. Their team work fell all to pieces. It was nice to practice, warm up, be a great team, just like in the body of Christ, but we don't like to admit there is an opposing team. Some of us deny the other team even exists. Others of us blame everything on the other team. But we have to remember who wins. Even though we know who wins we still need to participate and do our part. We have the best coach.
“Have you ever wondered why you did not rapture and go to heaven the day you became a Christian? It is because God has work for you to do here on earth! Having gone to heaven, Jesus expects you to be his body on earth. You are his hands, his feet, his voice.”
― Pedro Okoro, Crushing the Devil: Your Guide to Spiritual Warfare and Victory in Christ
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