This morning, I saw a clip from Scott Van Pelt of ESPN Sports Center discussing the hype surrounding the Ohio State football team’s faith after last week's national championship. Scott had some insightful comments about the team’s faith and the hype surrounding it. One of the most helpful was a comment about praying for winning: “The other team prays, too.”

When we talk about sports, I’ve always found it a bit petty that a team prays to win, as if somehow, God will pick favorites between two sports teams with substitute faith. Pray that God will help them play well, be safe, and please Him in their conduct. If teams only pray to win, they seem to have shallow faith.

We need a deep faith that isn’t dependent upon success, at least on how the world counts success.  Success, as far as faith is concerned, is about pleasing God.  Success for the Christian is doing what He has called us to do.  We are called to put Him first and love one another.  When we do these things, we have success in God‘s eyes.  God also causes us to share our faith to go into all the world to share what He has taught us and to baptize the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  When we do these things, we expand His kingdom.

The other thing that Van Pelt commented on was that what helped Ohio State in their season and in the championship game was “Their faith above and their faith in one another.”  We shouldn’t pray to win, at least in a sports game.  Our faith in God affects every part of who we are.  It changes our motivations and challenges us to give our all to Him.  Our faith in God also binds us to one another.  In the last two years, the Ohio State team had a spiritual awakening in which they gave themselves to Christ Jesus, and many of them were baptized together into the faith.  That bond with one another helped them as a team to accomplish the goal that was set before them.

This call to have faith in Christ and one another is also a challenge to the church.  We need to love one another, care for one another, lift one another in our successes and stumbles, and bond to help one another accomplish the mission of making disciples for Jesus Christ.  By doing so, we help expand the kingdom and put God first in our individual and corporate lives. When we have faith above faith in God and one another, we can accomplish all things through His glory and power, which He shares with us.   And when we have done those things, we point to Him and give Him the praise, honor, and glory for the great things He has done.

So, as we look into the future, let us see what God is doing among us and through us. Let us join in our faith in Him and one another to make those visions that He gives us a reality on earth so that His kingdom may come and His blessings may flow through the church and into the world.

Pastor Burt