Wednesday, July 6, 2016

The Losers Win

I had the great fortune and  privilege to play football for eight years, four in high school and four in college.  I am not making any claims to greatness; I only started for one of those years, my senior year in high school, although I lettered in other years, including in college.  Although I was not a starter on several of those eight teams, we had some great ones.  My senior year in high school we went all the way to the state semifinal game, and my senior year in college we were 11-1 and in the top ten in the country.  Even when not playing, it was an amazing experience to be a part of something great.

We learned much on the practice fields and in the classrooms.  We learned discipline, work ethics and habits, teamwork, obedience, and sacrifice.  These lessons would serve us well later in life, for you find that the work you put in during the week, the hours and hours of preparation, paid off on Friday nights or Saturday mornings.

In all those eight years, I was only on one losing team, my sophomore year in college.  There are so many variables that make for a winning or losing season.  That year was our coach's first year, and he came in following a very successful coach who had many winning seasons.  Our new coach tried to introduce a very different system on offense and defense, and it didn't work out well that year.  That same coach would lead us to that 11-1 season, a bowl game victory, and national ranking only two years later.

Although every team, unless undefeated, wins some games and loses some games, being on a losing team is a very different experience than being on a winning one.  If a team is going to lose most of its games, this usually starts early in the season.  After a couple of losses, everyone begins to get discouraged. Coaches and players try to figure out what is being done wrong, changes are made, players are replaced.  Confidence sags, doubt creeps in, and as games are approached, fear of another loss can predominate.  And since the team represents the school, the team is subject to criticism from those who don't even play. The worst part comes towards the end, when everyone just wishes the season was over.  Players and coaches get blamed.for what went wrong, and sometimes the players even quit the team.

Everyone wants to be associated with a winner, to be on the winning team.  No one wants to be a loser.  We even see in our politics that some candidates pick up enormous momentum once they start winning-- the voters start to identify with someone who is winning and want to vote for a winner, to be on the winning team. People start to drift away from losers, and the bleachers are empty, the crowds quiet, the players with their heads down as another final whistle announces the end of a game where you don't want to look at the scoreboard.

The Jews of Christ's time were looking for a win.  They had suffered under the Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and finally Roman occupation. They expected the Messiah to come as a conqueror, to lead them to victory.  When Jesus came as just a lowly man, a carpenter, they rejected Him as the Christ.  When he was taken prisoner and crucified, He appeared as just another loser.  The apostles were discouraged at being on a losing team in a losing season.

And now, as twenty-first century Christians, how do we feel about our team and our season?  The other side, that hates Christ, seems to be winning more and more.  In other lands we see Christians martyred for their faith, and the cross has become a bulls-eye.  Europe is largely godless. In our own country, we see the secularization and profaning of our culture and government.  Isaiah 5:20 talks about "those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter"  We see ungodliness in our government leaders and courts and legislatures.  Behavior that would have been unthinkable in decades past is now popularized and promoted.  Laws and rulings come down from on high assaulting the very core moral practices of the Christian.  Those who believe in Jesus are scorned and mocked in our media and movies, whereas those who despise our faith are celebrated.  More and more people are unchurched and unbelieving. The influence of Christianity on our nation recedes despite our prayers for revival and a return to our Christian heritage.  Picking up the newspaper each day or turning on the television is like looking at the stadium scoreboard, and it looks worse with each passing quarter.  We are losing the battle for the hearts and minds of our countrymen.

When on a losing team, the individual player must remember many things and put them into practice and play.  First and foremost is to remember that our God is sovereign.  He is not unawares of what is going on, and it all occurs on His created playing field.  He ordains the outcome of the game, but the teammate must give his Utmost for His Highest; regardless of what is going on the scoreboard, the player plays to the utmost of his abilities. He must maintain his discipline. . He must encourage his fellow teammates.  And never, never give up playing until the final whistle.

As Christians, it looks like we are losing America.  And there is a role for praying for revival.  But no matter how bad the scoreboard looks, we must remember that God knows what is going on, and it is part of His sovereign will.  We must continue to give our utmost to Him, who created us to do just that.  We must maintain our disciplines in prayer and going to church.  We have to encourage our fellow believers.  We cannot give into discouragement, doubt, and criticism.  We cannot "quit" the team and we must never, never give up on our faith in Jesus Christ.  He who endures to the end will be saved (Matthew 24:15), and if we endure, we shall also reign with Him (II Timothy 2:12).

And here is the final score: Christ returns with a resounding victory.  No matter what the game looks like now, "Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us" (Romans 8:37).  It may look like we are on the losing team now, but Christ and His chosen will conquer.  In defeat, every member on the other side will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).  Our world may embrace paganism and hatred of Christianity, just as it did thousands of years ago for the early Christians, and we may currently be on what seems to be the losing team. Jesus Christ does not lose this game or the season, and neither do we.  And don't worry about making the All-American team, you are already on the All-Christian team.