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Ups and Downs in Sports – and
Life
From John Ross Thompson – October 2, 2006
Now that I’m firmly entrenched in Spartanland, I am once again focusing on how
sports and life parallel each other. The ups and downs of MSU football this
season (to say nothing of the collapse of the Tigers after leading their
division since mid-May) are a fast forward of how we live our lives.
In college sports, especially, the outcome can change dramatically in just a few
seconds. The Notre Dame and Illinois games are good examples. The negative is
that lots of good hard work can seem to lead only to defeat and frustration.
However, the opposite is true when we are on the winning side, for a last minute
change of events can bring victory when some think there is no hope. Perhaps
that’s why we stick with our teams through thick and thin.
In sports, we become avid, partisan fans, denouncing the opponent and cheering
the home team, knowing that in the end we fully understand why others do the
same for their teams. We can be boisterous and outspoken in our loyalty, and
others understand why we are that way.
It is odd that we do this for sports teams, but fail to be as outspoken about
our faith. We have been taught to be tolerant and respectful of others, and so
many persons take this to the extreme of never sharing their faith for fear of
offending someone else. This is a bit like being a closet Spartan fan, never
letting anyone know our blood runs green. How silly that would be in sports. How
silly it is in faith, too!
There are ways of respecting others, and still sharing what is most precious to
us. I have found interfaith experiences to be helpful to me in learning to
express my faith. Being honestly interested in how others believe does not
diminish my own faith in God through Christ. In fact, those who are not
Christian seem to ask excellent questions about why I believe the way I do,
forcing me to be more articulate about what is most important to me.
Thanksgiving will be here in a short time. It is the one religious holiday when
people of various faiths can easily worship together, for it is focused on the
one God most of believe in, without lifting up our differences. I urge us all in
this harvest season to determine how we will give thanks to God, and to do so
through an interfaith Thanksgiving worship service or another way of interacting
with someone who will challenge us to express our own faith more clearly.
I don’t expect us to cheer in our sanctuary the way we do at Spartan Stadium.
However, I do feel the challenge of learning better how to share what is most
important with those I know. How do you share your faith?
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