"I love the sense of satisfaction that I get when I’ve done a swimming workout or race, and know that I gave my whole being and heart to God in every moment of the swim. It’s the best worship I can offer him."
All for one and one for all
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:9-13
Being part of a team over a period of years, sharing the successes and disappointments creates a bond between people like very little else. You are bound so tightly together because of the immediacy of victory and defeat. You learn very quickly to be blunt with each other because competition demands it. You learn to critique and to praise each other much more often than in everyday life.
If your team loses a big game there are several ways you can deal with this. As you go into the changing room you sense the huge disappointment that you and your team mates feel. It would be a natural reaction to pout and sulk, to go into the corner of the changing room and sit on your own. Forwards blame the defence and vice versa. Players blame the coach, the coach blames the club structure and so on
You try to slide blame on to someone else. No! At this point ask yourself two questions: have I given God my best, whatever the score; can I support my team-mates right now? Get your mind off what they think of you and start thinking of how you can support them!
That is loving your team mate as yourself. It may boil down to asking at any one time on the field, Am I more concerned with my welfare at the moment than that of my colleagues? When that arises, to focus on the needs of the team first is to action God's way in sport.
Romans 12:10-13 is an explanation of how becoming a Christian will affect your love for others who belong to Christ. In learning this in the heart of the Christian community, the next step is to take care of the world of sport by modeling this pattern of love in the sports community.
Represent God by building relationships amongst those who you invest so much of your life with, many of whom don't know a thing about what God has done for us in Jesus Christ. Knowing you may help them find out!
Be the unsung hero in your team, the person who, unnoticed, does all the vital but trivial jobs.