Since my most recent reading of Galatians, I have again been struck by the simple truths of chapter 5, especially verses 1 and 13. Some implications from those verses are below. I hope these thoughts are of value to you and to those whom you serve.
YOU ARE FREE!
Christian men and women of sport, those who are in relationship with Christ Jesus, are free to train, to compete, to win, to lose, to succeed, to fail, to be champions and to be “also rans.” Their lives are kept by the living Lord Jesus and their relationships with Him are unaffected by performance.
“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” Galatians 5:1 The love of Christ will lead the Christian competitor to freedom, not pressure and slavery to performance. If the coach or player feels pressure, fear of failure or compulsion to perform in a particular way, those emotions are not coming from the Lord Jesus. They may very well be there, but they’re probably from his own flesh, from her coach, from his parents, from the club or the media or the general culture of sport, but they are not from Christ Jesus. You are free!
“For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Galatians 5:13 The freedom we experience in Christ Jesus as competitors must not be turned into an opportunity for selfish indulgence. It’s very easy for the Christian coach or player who has discovered his freedom in Christ to simply take his freedom and run to his own corner of the sport, isolating himself from teammates and privatizing his faith. The Lord’s admonition of verse 13 is that our freedom is given to us, in part, to enable us to serve our teammates selflessly. Our freedom in Christ is the essential quality that empowers us to put down our own prideful flesh, to prefer our teammates’ needs above our own, to love the unlovely ones among us and to embrace those who both perform well and those who don’t. You are free!
Christian Coach, Trainer or Club Manager – you are free. You are no more pleasing to the Lord when you finish the season undefeated and champions as you are when you go winless and finish last in your league. Neither are you less pleasing to Him whether you succeed or fail. You are free!
Christian Player, Athlete or Competitor – you are free. You may experience pressure, compulsion or guilt related to your performance, but you can be sure that is not coming from the Lord Jesus. You are free. You can live with a daily assurance that you were created in Christ Jesus for good works which the Lord prepared beforehand for you to walk in (Ephesians 2:10) and your life in sport is a part of those good works. You are free. You can fully offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, it is your spiritual act of worship. (Romans 12:1-2) In each day’s training, competition, rest and recovery, in all of life, you are free!
Sport Chaplain, Sport Mentor or Character Coach – you are free. You will feel the emotions and pressures experienced by those you serve, but you are free. You will experience victories and failures with your teams and individual competitors, but you are free. The Lord is no more pleased with your ministry when your team is successful and winning as He is when your team consistently underachieves and regularly loses. He is no less pleased with you and you are no less valuable to Him when you serve in a seemingly obscure place as when you serve with a “high profile” team or a “celebrity” status player. You are free!
Men and Women of Sport – You are free!! Live in the liberty afforded you by the Lord Jesus. Let your freedom lead you to serve selflessly and to love extravagantly.
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