--
"The LORD will march out like a champion . . ."
The Super Bowl has not yet begun as I sit down to write this. It is a story yet to be written, a battle yet to be fought. Football fans everywhere are poised and waiting for the contest to unfold. I am one of them. Who will win the day? Whose great season will end in triumph and who will go home in deepest disappointment? Who will have the game of his life? Who will make mistakes that affect the outcome of the game? We don't know! As they say, "That's why they play the game."
Humanity loves a contest! We just love to watch and/or participate in competition. The Super Bowl is in an elite category of contests, right up there with Game 7 of a World Series (or NBA or NHL Championship), the 5th Set of a Wimbledon Final, the final round at Augusta, the Home Stretch at the Kentucky Derby, the Gold Medal game in the Olympics. The drama just doesn't get any bigger in athletic competition than these pinnacle moments of determining who the ultimate champion will be!
Why do you suppose we care so much?
Oh, I know, some care more than others. Growing up a coach's daughter, our family thrived on sporting events of all kinds--we cared a lot! Others, not as much, but even those who are lukewarm about football, maybe even those who haven't watched a single game all season and can't name a single player, will tune in for the Super Bowl. Why is that? What is it about an epic contest that captures our imagination on such a universal scale?
We are hard-wired to care who wins!
Immediately after mankind fell (the most epic fumble of all time, not to mention the mortal injury it caused), God announced His plan to overcome their devastating turnover and win the victory for them, setting in motion the granddaddy of all contests.
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
That contest continues. Here, in TIME, we play our positions on a cosmic gridiron, we play hard, leaving it all on the field of competition. But from Heaven's perspective, the game we're playing is already recorded on God's DVR. It's a fait accompli! The Victor's Name is already on the trophy! The championship has already been won!! The team in the blood-red jerseys with the name JESUS CHRIST emblazoned in gold across the chest will one day catch up with that moment of completion! As the clock runs down to zero, the trumpet will sound the end of the game, when we will be carried to victory and presented with a banquet unparalleled in the history of celebration!
THAT is why we're hard-wired to love competition! Every contest here on earth is a tiny picture of the ultimate game where God and His people are already destined to win! Are you on His team?
God is a fierce competitor!
He ALWAYS wins!
"But thanks be to God! He gives us the
VICTORY
through our Lord
-JESUS CHRIST "
Whose name is on your jersey?
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. . . After the game . . .
Congratulations to the Green Bay Packers on a great win in a down-to-the-wire contest!
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Joining Ann Voskamp for her Multitude Monday
I hope you'll join in if you haven't already!
In the counting of the endless gifts I say with C. S. Lewis, "This also is Thou!"
#281-295
281. An unexpected chance to catch up with old friends at Peet's
282. The very busy afternoon/evening schedule transforming itself into an evening at home instead
283. Despite having laryngitis, feeling well enough to take She So Sweet to officiate basketball
284. Tea with honey and lemon that helps my throat, even though I don't like it
285. Reconnecting with far-flung family members on facebook
286. The gift that came in the mail, filled with a thousand more gifts
287. Fun call from a dear friend who was glad to do all the talking since I had no voice :)
288. Drummer Boy's new song and his joy in the creation
289. Getting to hear Amy & Smitty sing Friends over John's cell phone because he and Colleen wished I was there with them!
290. My too-generous sister-in-law--I would have gladly done it for free!
291. Lazy Saturday mornings
292. My computer that is hanging in there
293. The infectious sound of my kids laughing together
294. facebook and the way it can, in an instant, be the world's biggest and fastest prayer chain
295. The fun of watching the Super Bowl together as a family!
Also joining L.L. Barkat for:
