“Knowing Christ is the best thing that has ever happened to me, although winning the US Open was a pretty good second.”
Who are you?
You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Exodus 19:4,5These two verses spoken by God to Moses on mount Sinai are full of meaning. They speak of security, identity and responsibility. God reminds Moses what he has done for the Israelites. He offers them an incredible identity as God’s “treasured possession”. Their responsibility is to keep the covenant and to obey.
As we seek to represent God in the world of sport we can claim the same promises. We are God’s people; we can look back on how he has been with us in times past.
Our responsibility is to be a “holy nation” (verse 6) in the world of sport. We are to be different. Our standards are to be different. There is to be an integrity in us. We are to be different in the way we treat others – opponents, officials but even team mates and club officials.
We are to be different in our sexual behaviour. We are to be those you serve – our club and our team mates – not those who complain. We are to be those who do the jobs that no one else wants to.
Tim Crothers’ biography of Anson Dorrance (The man watching) refers to a player at the University of Carolina who rarely played but who trained “every week with a smile on her face, and the first girl to greet anyone who came off the field and tell them how great they did.” I don’t know if she was Christian but I do hope so.
Go and do likewise.