The Christian AthleteSample

Christian Athletes Use Sport as a Tool in Their Sanctification

It can be easy for athletes who identify as Christians to view their sport as the bank in their life that God deposits blessing into when we are living obediently before Him. In this view, worldly success in sport becomes God’s way of rewarding us and lack of success is God telling us to step up our spiritual game.

The Christian athlete understands that they are the clay and God is the master potter. In this view, sport is a tool God uses on the spinning wheel to shape us—in a way that He deems best—to help us become more like Him. After all, for many athletes, involvement in sports demands much of their time. And when they are not actively involved in some way with their sport, they are often thinking about it. For anything in our life that monopolizes much of our daily rhythms, wisdom would suggest that God will use that—in various ways—to draw us closer to Him.

The Bible backs that up too.

Pauls makes it clear in Romans 8:28 that God is using everything that happens in our life for our good. What is God’s definition of good in this context? It means (at least) that everything happening in our life can be used to help make us better reflect God’s image. He is the ultimate good. That’s what sanctification is all about. It’s the process God uses to align us more and more with his character and likeness.

For the Christian athlete, that means wins, losses, injuries, benchings, teammate and coach relationships, and championships are all different ways that God is using to help us look more and more like Jesus.

This does not mean they are void of emotion when things don’t go how they want in their sport. They give themselves the freedom and permission to be upset or frustrated. But they also have a wide-angle lens of perspective that allows them to snap out of it more quickly than others.

Christian athlete, what is going on in your life right now within the context of your sport? How might God be using that to teach you something about yourself, or about Him?

Christian athlete prayer of the day:

“God, you know exactly what I am going through right now. Even more than that, you knew before the beginning of time that I would be going through this. I know you’re not surprised. Would you show me the ‘why’ behind what’s going on right now? Would you give me eyes to see beyond what’s right in front of me and instead, through spiritual lenses? I trust you that what’s happening is for my good, even though I probably wouldn’t have chosen this path for myself. I submit that you know better than me! I trust you, I love you, and I am grateful that you are using this situation to somehow make me look more and more like Jesus. Amen.”