Get in the Game!

I remember sitting on the sidelines during a junior high basketball game thinking if only I could “get in the game.” I would be able to show my coach how much I’d improved and how ready I was to take on the challenge. My day finally came at the end of the year with the tournament game on the line and me standing at the foul line. With all eyes from the crowd and both teams watching me, I bounced the ball three times and placed my finger on the “L” in Wilson, like I’d practiced so many times before. It was a one-and-one shot and I needed to make the first basket to get another shot. One point would tie the game and a second point would win it for us…

How many times in our lives do we ask God to allow us to “get in the game?” Are we fully committed to allowing God to work in our lives? Or are we too afraid to get in the game because of what he might expect of us? If we do get in the game, we know we’ll have to be active, committed, devout Christians, right? It’ll be a lot of pressure for us to be able to stand up for our faith. We might have to go to church every week, or at least regularly. We’ll have to be good examples for our children in many ways. Can we live up to and meet these demands?

Being a good follower of Jesus Christ doesn’t mean we have to be perfect in order to get in the game. Being a good follower means we have to be willing to try; to be willing to give it our best effort. Pay attention to signs around you that may be asking you to get in the game.

There are opportunities everywhere for us to get more fully in the game. Have you ever been in church and listened to other people singing around you but not joining in? Sometimes I listen to the rosary on the radio but I only listen. I’m not as “in the game” as I could be because I don’t say my words out loud. Why don’t I do these easy things? I know there are so many different ways that I could easily get more fully in the game every day.

Perhaps there is a virtual conference you’ve thought about attending. Maybe there’s a friend you know that you’ve been thinking of asking to prayer group with you. Maybe there was a morning you woke up five minutes early and you could read your Bible. Whatever thoughts may have crossed your mind, there’s a good chance that it is our Almighty Coach telling us it is time to get in the game. Just give it a shot! It may be easier than you think.