An Analogy

So Joe Hornberger, a Rice FCA guy, was speaking at Klein FCA this morning and he got me thinking. He talked a little bit about living for Christ, and more specifically from Chapter Four of Crazy Love entitled "Profile of the Lukewarm." Again I heavily recommend you read this book because I guarantee God will move in your heart if you listen to what Francis Chan, the author has to say. Anyways I've yet to get to my original thought.

ahem anyways, Joe's message to our scattered group of kids, some athletes, some not, was refreshing and I translated the concept into an analogy that brought a new sort of clarity to me. Pretend that each one of us as Christians has a position on a football team. There is a right guard and a quarter back, a wide receiver and a center. Now suppose we're trying as a team to accomplish our mission, bring Glory to Jesus Christ and make his name known across the nations. In order for us to reach that goal, to have an effective team, we must all be working together. If someone on the offense line doesn't block the oncoming rush then the quarterback is going to get sacked. If the wide receiver blocks instead of running deep then how can he catch the touchdown? Football has been described as the ultimate team sport. It takes more than just star athletes to be successful, it takes a unit that functions together in order to reach its purpose.

(from Joe) Bob Stoops, the now legendary coach of Oklahoma, was once told he would never win with such a terrible team in his first year as a head coach. The second year of his tenure he won the national championship. He might not have had the best players, but that's not what he asked for. He told a reporter that all he required from his team was effort and execution, neither of the two involved talent.

Why do I bring that up? For the same reason that Joe mentioned this morning: we are all called to fight lukewarmness and to go out on offense. The football analogy just made sense to me; Christ describes us as members of his body, each having our own purpose and function. If you are a Christian God is not happy with you playing life safe, living comfortably. God demands our everything. Why do we give him nearly nothing? Another analogy: If your life is a house, God should be able to permeate every room. Are you locking him out of any room, no matter how small? If you didn't believe would your life look the same?

food for thought. thanks again to Joe and Chapters 4 and 7 of Crazy Love.

-matt