Fan or Follower
Lets face the facts. If you know anything about me you know I am not a big sports fan. I just don’t get it, getting all worked up and excited about a sporting event. Don’t get me wrong, I love watching the super bowl (mainly for the commercials & food) and sometimes my hometown team, the Ohio State Buckeyes and especially the Olympics.
I remember, when I was a kid my, dad having season tickets and and we would drive to Cincinnati to see the Reds play baseball, stay at the local Holiday Inn, go swimming, and the best memory of all, seeing Hank Aaron tie Babe Ruth’s record in the 1974 season against the Reds. Boy did we have fun. We had season tickets to basketball and football too. I grew up with a basketball court in my back yard, and I was even on the diving team for 12 years hoping some day to go to the Olympics. As a kid I remember seeing people at the games scream and yell, get mad and curse, throw things and even fight. I love the smell of the popcorn, I remember my first box of Cracker Jacks, and the taste of the hotdogs and can’t forget hearing the concession guy yelling “POP-Corn HeeeEEERE!”.
Why am I strolling down memory lane and why are you beginning to think Julie should be worried. . . well don’t get your “homerun hankies” in a knot, I’m not losing it.
I’m trying to put things in perspective. I do that a lot. It keeps me from wandering off the path. Anyway…I think about my relationship with Jesus and wonder sometimes if I am just a fan or am I truly a follower. Do I get all excited about Jesus, think He’s the best, and even hang a pennant on my wall proclaiming my allegiance? But when things don’t quite work out or I think He has let me down, do I push Him aside until next season and hope for the best?
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that if you are a sports fan, you are not a true follower of Jesus. I could compare any number of attitudes, or actions to our relationship to Jesus. For me it’s about my level of commitment. As families, are we helping our kids to be more than just fans of Jesus? Are we just doing church or are we living our lives for Christ? Are we as parents exemplifying a life sold out for Jesus or have we given in to mediocrity? I ask myself these questions consistently and find, more often than not that I need to change my focus, attitude, and actions. Let me encourage you to ask the hard questions too. And remember we are here to help you in this journey and if you just need prayer we can do that too. His for the kingdom, Pastor John
07 Jul 2009 at 8:16 am
I agree. I spent last weekend in Boston for the 4th of July and it’s a beautiful city, and Sox fans were not rude to me like one of the Yankees fans in NYC was after drinking too much. Jesus’ name doesn’t get muddied or “besmurched” just because his followers are imperfect, and it doesn’t lessen my faith one iota.
But it’s about making a sacrificial decision to follow Christ. As an example, the great Mongol ruler Kublai Khan admitted Christianity was the most true of all religions, but the reason he didn’t become a Christian was because it would mean giving up his empire. For a man who has it all in this life, that is harder than squeezing an entire camel, guts and all, through the eye of a needle. Would Babe Ruth have given up baseball for Jesus?