The Christian's World Cup

I've been talking a lot about the World Cup recently with anyone that will listen (mostly my kids).  How exciting it's been, the energy around it, and how it brings people from all over the world together!  I think its popularity is even greater than the Olympics because it's concentrated on just one sport, the most popular sport in the world.  While the Olympics involves a lot of different events, the World Cup is focused on just soccer, which has a global fan base of about 3-4 billion people.  So the focus and energy on this one event is incredible!  

Now I know some of you may not care about soccer or the World Cup.  That's okay!  I probably wouldn't consider myself a legit soccer fan either.  It's really the spectacle of the World Cup, that it's here this year, and the competition between the countries that has sucked me in.  So even though the FIFA World Cup started in 1930, I'm just now jumping on the bandwagon.  As opposed to so many other things today, it feels good to watch something that brings people together and lifts spirits around the world.

While watching a match on TV the other day, my daughter, Avery, said she likes how simple the screen is.  It showed just the teams, the score, and the time elapsed.  One of the things that stands out about soccer is how simple the game is, which is why it's so popular.  If you know the game well (which I don't), I'm sure there are a lot of intricacies involved but in the end, the game doesn't take much explaining.  All the effort is around putting the ball in the net.  That's the goal!  

For the believer, amidst all the complexities of life, there is a simple goal for us as well.  The goal of the Christian life is to be conformed to the image of Christ, and, as a result, glorify God and enjoy Him forever.  This is based upon the grace of God in our lives, the power of the Holy Spirit, and our union with Christ.  While all of this is simple to understand, it's not easy to live out.  We all know of the challenges, struggles, and temptations that keep us from living Christ-like lives.  But this is the goal!  This is our World Cup!  In the end, this is where our focus and energies must go.

I just watched the US team defeat the Bosnia and Herzegovina team to advance to the next round against Belgium.  While we don't know how far they will go in their quest for the World Cup, let us keep our focus on the goal of becoming more and more like Jesus.  Let us press on, as the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 4:13, "until we all . . . become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" glorifying God and enjoying Him forever.  

Pastor Darren