Ephesians 4:15-16
Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. https://youtu.be/Y71r-T98E2Q
I love sports; all kinds of sports. But if I were forced to choose just one, it would be football. And I’d choose football because football involves the most team play. And what I mean by ‘team play’ is this. Basketball, hockey, soccer and baseball are team sports, but the majority of the play demands that team members have similar skills. Everyone on a basketball team has to shoot, everybody on a hockey team has to skate…you get the idea. But football is unique in that the skill sets range from throwing, catching, blocking, tackling, kicking and running. No matter what you might be good at doing, a football team can find a way to use your talent.
There is absolutely no expectation of a 375 pound lineman to run up and down the field throwing or carrying a football. But he is perfect for protecting the quarterback when he throws, or blocking for the running back when he runs. And none of them can kick like the small frail kicker. Everybody’s talent is unique. But when they all work together, it’s tremendously rewarding.
I liken this sports analogy to those of us laboring in the Church of Jesus Christ. No other entity in life requires and demands the harmonic participation of its members more than the church. As long as they do their job, a football players can hate their teammates and still win a championship. Christians can’t. Our number one focus is unity that incorporates truth and love. Our “Sport” demands love, fellowship, parity and equality. That’s our winning strategy.
The epistle of Paul to the Ephesians is an interesting and powerful discussion concerning the necessity of unity among believers. This entire book, in one way or other, reinforces the mandate that Christians from every background under the sun, find common ground to unify and love each other. For all our individual efforts, skills and talents, nothing compares to the joy of unity in the Spirit.
The reason this lesson resonates with me is that in my experience, the Body of Christ has seemingly been drifting towards partisanism, factions, cliques or rouge memberships. Folk are staunchly in one corner with a group of friends or out on their own seeking to distance themselves from any organized efforts. I find both positions contrary to the teaching that Paul provides this morning. Neither position offers a winning solution. The winning methodology for believers is the opposite of the world. When the world says this is a ‘dog eat dog’ world, the believer says “no”, we follow the ‘dog feed dog’ world Kingdom principle established by Jesus Christ. The world teaches to hate your enemies. Jesus admonishes us to love our enemies. Very different, right?
But even when we try and follow the dictates of Christ as honestly and closely as we can, the challenge of unity still remains, because you can’t unify with yourself. That’s not unity. Unity demands we prefer others before ourselves. And that my brothers and sisters is in essence the definition of team.
One of my all time heroes in football is the late Walter Peyton. He is among the greatest running backs the world has ever seen. But what is little know about him is that he was also a great passer, receiver and kicker. Though he could do all these things exceptionally well, he refrained from using his gifts to gain personal notoriety, and allowed others to participate. In the end, he was finally part of a championship team. I doubt had he tried to do it all, he would ever have won a ring.
Dearest Children of Promise, as we prepare to regather in our individual sanctuaries for fellowship, let us keep this lesson in our hearts. Anyone precluded from participating in the forwarding of the ministry is holding us all back. And everyone playing, ‘out of position’ threatens us all. The winning combination in Christ is harmony, parity, love and honesty. Church is truly a team sport.
God bless
