Men need to get in the game to teach God’s lessons

Fall sports are here! I am excited, even though my Green Bay Packers lost to the 49ers in the NFL season opener. My only consolation is that Colin Kaepernick is a Packers fan, having grown up 40 miles from Green Bay, Wisc.

The dream of every aspiring young athlete is that golden moment when, at a crucial point, the coach turns to him and says, “Get in the game!” With the greatest determination to prove himself the player leaps off the bench. In his mind, he visualizes scoring the winning basket with only two seconds to go; making that running, over-the-shoulder catch that ends the big inning; or busting through the line to block the field goal and return it for a touchdown.

Of course, that isn’t usually what happens. More often than not, he doesn’t get the opportunity to make the big play. Or worse yet, an opportunity comes and he drops the ball, misses the basket or watches a runaway quarterback who has eluded his grasp sprint, ball in hand, toward the end zone.

Spotlight moments in life do not come that often for most of us. Much of the time we find ourselves on the sidelines cheering for someone else who executes the big play.

But when the obscure lineman does his job and impedes a freight-train-like tackle long enough to allow the quarterback to throw a complete pass, there’s satisfaction. When a second-string player is able to get the ball to the star of the team so that he can shoot for the winning point, it reminds us that it is not about soaking up personal glory. Even the most obscure player, when he does his job, has a meaningful purpose.

Men need to be in the game of Christian education, which is far more important than any sport. If children are left alone to know the Lord and come to Sunday School and church, fewer than 5 percent of those children will grow up to be adult believers. If only mom takes any interest in their children’s welfare than a little less than 20 percent of those children grow to be adult believers. However, when we do it God’s way and dads get in the game and make their children getting a Christian education a reality, more than 90 percent of those children grow to be adult believers. If you are a single mom, please don’t be disheartened; with God’s help, through you and the church and your Christian friends your children will be a part of the 20 percent.

Men, get in the game! Welcome to service in the body of Christ. It’s not about going to the playoffs that concerns God. God would have all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. God would have all people serve and worship him through faith. Our purpose is to bring glory to God, no matter what our position may be in the body of Christ.

Men, get in the game! Yes, here is your big chance. It all begins with the word of God. That’s the news of our salvation. That’s the guide for our lives. In that word, we find our mission, and it is to be carried out through the body of Christ — the church — as each part does its work to edify every other member of the team. Ultimately, it is to bring glory to Christ.

Get in the game by being active at church. Yes, most of us literally are on the bench every Sunday, and much of the time we are spectators — but we are spectators who are also participants. Never downplay the importance of your participation in God’s house.

Remember what it says in Hebrews 10:25: “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Worship is the response of our Christian faith. It has been so from the beginning. God-fearing people worshiped God. They simply had to respond to the gracious promise God had made to the fallen human race. God had promised a savior who would crush Satan’s power.

That same promise is still ours today, and the same motivation compels us to worship. Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners — sinners like you and I. He crushed Satan’s power by paying our debt on the cross and by taking away our guilt. He erased the record of sin that once disqualified us from entering heaven. He reconciled us to our Heavenly Father. That is why we worship.

Not only are we edified through the Word of God when we come to church, we also come for others. The author of Hebrews reminds us, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another — and all the more as you see the day approaching.”

Our attendance at church serves to encourage others around us.

Men, get in the game! You’re a star. On the day you became a child of God through faith, there was rejoicing among the angels of heaven. God has a starting position for you. He will give you all the equipment, strength and stamina you need. As the saying goes, “God doesn’t call the qualified, he qualifies the called.”

Robb Robbert is pastor of King of Kings Lutheran Church in Wasilla. Contact him at kokw@mtaonline.net.

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