Remember playground football? The captain of each prospective team stands to draft the players he chooses from the pool of prospects. In alternating sequence the players are chosen, beginning with the most desirable players, and finally the lousiest players are left standing until finally they wind up on one team or the other near the end of the session. The captain of the team generally plays the quarterback position and decides who carries the ball. Since both team captains want to win, they generally give the ball to the player who carries it best.

The Christian life is similar to that in many ways. The gospel message is the ball, and it's carried by those who take the game most seriously. When it' passed on to new players, some will carry it and some decide not to. The ball gets fumbled when somebody we're trying to pass it to sees us blow our stack or do something stupid. Satan has his eleven guys on the field too, and they'll try their best to get us to fumble the ball at every turn. The silly thing is that we find ourselves whining to the Coach and expecting him to keep those other guys off us and we complain at the opposition while the game is under way. The players who get hit the least are the ones who are the most ineffective on the field. Sometimes a new player who started out as a serious player drops the ball and never picks it up again because the opposing team hit him or her hard when he or she first attempted to drive the ball downfield. The opposing players will double-team the most effective ball-carriers and try to put them out of the game.

Church is the huddle. Every day life is the game. Do you watch a football game to see the players huddle? What if they come out of the huddle after the plays are called and don't do anything at all to drive the ball downfield? Worse yet, what if they never go to the huddle but start spending all their time socializing with the opposing team and living like they play for the other side? These types always lose sight of the Coach's master plan and they wind up totally ineffective. Each member of the team has to draw strength and unity from the Coach and the huddle in order to be effective.

Let's face it. Satan has some really effective tactics at rendering us ineffective. Every analogy breaks down sooner or later. Here it breaks down because Satan team never carries the ball and doesn't want it. Satan simply wants to destroy those who carry the gospel message and make them ashamed of the team they play for. The gospel is the story of his ultimate damnation and defeat and he is absolutely ruthless in his quest to steal, kill, and destroy. To the people of this world who play on Satan team (referred to in Ephesians 6:12 as "the world forces of this darkness"), the gospel is foolishness and Satan appears to their most avid players as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). All of us are on one team or another, whether we want to believe it or not.

"He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters." ~Matthew 12:30

If you're not on God's team, then you're on Satan team. And if you are on God's team, by virtue of your relationship with Jesus Christ, and you have the idea that sharing the gospel message isn't important in day-to-day living, think again. It's the mission and purpose of all who call on Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to encourage and support the efforts of fellow ball-carriers, as well as carrying the ball ourselves and decreasing the size of the opposing team. Angels and players who have gone on before watch from the grandstands while we move around on the field...

"...since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith..." ~Hebrews 12:1b-2a

Every time a new player is added to the winning team a thunderous cheer goes up from the grandstands...

"...there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous people who need no repentance." ~Luke 15:7b

The sad part is that many of these new players stay on the team for years, (sometimes all their lives!), before they realize the object of the game and many never carry the ball at all. They simply stand and hold it while Satan and his demons are doing everything possible to make sure they don't pass it to anybody else or even act like they're in the fight. They seldom if ever read their Bibles and they actually feel more comfortable with the opposing team they just left than with the new team they've just joined. When they do start to try and carry the ball, they get beat up so badly by the other team that they give up trying to pass it. Even though these players are wearing the winning jersey, they don't feel like winners, and when you watch them on the field, it's hard to tell whose side they're on. They won't put on the full armor of God (Ephesians 6:14-16). They want to play wearing only the helmet of salvation but they refuse to put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, and the last thing they want is to put on the shoes of the gospel of peace. They seldom if ever pick up the sword of the spirit (Ephesians 6:17; the Word of God). Thus they remain vulnerable as they suffer defeat after defeat, easily pierced with Satan's flaming darts of doubt and confusion, seldom if ever utilizing the shield of faith at all. Faith, you see, comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17), which is the sword of the Spirit. The more the Sword of the Spirit is used, the stronger the shield of faith becomes.

Let's consider some facts.

1. Those who know Christ as Savior and Lord are on the winning team. The end of the ball game is no mystery; the Book lays it out very plainly. The length of time we'll remain in the game, however, is always in question. We never know when the Coach will decide it's time for each of us to leave the field to sit in the grandstands. If we make too many plays for the opposing team, or don't take the game seriously, He'll definitely take us out early (Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 12:30).
2. The opposition we experience as Christians comes our way only as God allows it. We're all in training. When storms and opposition come our way, it's up to us whether we become better or bitter. An athlete who wimps out on his team doesn't serve his team well at all.
3. Opposition increases as we become better players. Satan will blind side even the best player if he can, and many a proud Christian who thought he or she was secure has been brought low. "Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." ~1 Corinthians 10:12
   
4. Expect to get penalized when you choose to make plays for the opposition. This includes tripping the other players on your team, particularly the newer ones who don't run very well. "It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles" (Romans 14:2). Don't expect the newer players to do well if they know you're sleeping around, drinking alcohol, going to places you shouldn't, cheating on your time card at work, showing laziness on the job, or dealing dishonestly with others. "...we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world." ~2 Corinthians 11:32
   
5. Read the manual, talk regularly to the Coach and go to the huddle every time. Otherwise you won't even know what the plays are about and you'll lose your focus. And don't go to the huddle to be entertained or to have your "needs met;" you're not there for that. Listen for the Coach's "time out" and He'll let you know what He wants you to do. That way He'll be glorified when you're on the field giving it all you've got.
6. Remember that every player has his own position to play. Not everybody is meant to be a quarterback. We're all supposed to carry the ball and hand it off, but not all of us throw good passes. Much more could be said about this; find out what position you're supposed to play and get busy.
7. Remember that pleasing the Coach is your #1 priority. Don't do anything that embarrasses or disappoints the Coach and make sure to spend all your time thinking about how well your performance on the field pleases Him. This principle is a central part of the game.

If you're not on God's team, go to Jesus Christ and ask Him to put you on His roster. It's called The Book of Life in Revelation 3:5, 13:8, 17:8, and 20:12. If you are on God's team, clean up your act and start carrying the ball. You're in the game on one team or the other whether you like it or not, and we're nearing the end of the fourth quarter. It's awfully hot in Satan locker room.