Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. – Colossians 3:1-4 (NLT)
It’s NFL football on a Sunday afternoon in the Fall. The two-minute warning for the game to end has been given. With the game tied at 24-24, the huddle breaks and both teams come to the line. As the center places his hands on the ball, what do you think might be going through his mind? Is he thinking that they have plenty of time left? Might he be wondering what’s for dinner tonight or about his tee-time at the golf course tomorrow? Doubtful. He could possibly have taken a pretty decent beating that day from the nose-tackle in front of him and he might be thinking about the lick he’s about to take, but other than that, he’d better be thinking about getting the next snap cleanly into the hands of his quarterback first and then completing his blocking assignment. If his mind is working the way a professional athlete’s mind should work, there should nothing other than that in his thoughts….period! The game is not endless and each player has only a specified amount of time to accomplish their individual tasks and if anything distracts them from concentrating on that they will not perform with excellence, and that can effect their team and the resulting score at the end of the game.
The Apostle Paul, in the third chapter of Colossians, begins by reminding us that we are now on Team Jesus and since we are we need to stay focused on what and how we are to perform. There was a time when we played sandlot ball, but not now. Just as an NFL player is to play at a different level, we are to perform at an even higher, heavenly level. This is not the pee-wee league anymore. This is the real deal, and the clock is ticking down! How easily we might be distracted from the realities of who we are in Christ, and how we are to perform and where we are going. Each day…each moment our perspective and our focus must be fixed like a laser beam on the Truth of Christ and who He has called us to be. We cannot afford to allow the distractions of this world… our money… our circumstances… our troubles… our temptations… to cause us to concentrate on anything other than a heavenly reality and perspective.
The illustration of an NFL game not withstanding, this is not a game. This is reality! This world is not your home. We are only temporarily passing through and our time here is limited. While we are here…. while we’re waiting…. let’s keep our minds and our eyes fixed on our destination and (to return to the illustration), until the gun sounds to end this present game, perform with the excellence we have been called to by our Lord. Oh, and by the way…don’t bother to glance at the scoreboard. WE WIN!
Radical Faith 
Eddie:
Football has become a way of life in this country. People, especially men, spend hours each weekend watching football, not to mention Monday night and starting this week, Thursday night. It may have even passed baseball as our favorite past time. Then there is fantasy football leagues and all the preparation and hipe that goes into those games. But at the end of a football filled weekend, we can only look at the scoreboard, hope our favorite team won and wait for next week. We cannot control the out come of the game. The coach never calls us to suit up and get in the game. We are just a spectator and fan.
Now there is the game of life. The game of life is played out day by day and sometimes hour by hour. Unlike football, where players practice all week for a 60 minute game, most of us do not practice for the game of life. We are not prepared to play the game and all too often we fail. Unlike football, we are put in the game, every down and every play. We need to be ready. We need to know how to handle the blitz’s when they come. And for some of us, they blitz all the time.
The words from two songs come to my mind. Courageous by Casting Crowns and The Power of Your Love by Lincoln Brewster. The words should describe our lives. If you get a chance, sit down and listen to the words.
Thanks for such an insightful response George! It’s good to know that guys like you get it and are always “in the game.”