Playing On God's TeamSample

Coaches Coach, Players Play

Many times, as players on God’s team, the toughest battles we face in the game of life are the ones against ourselves. We get in God’s way by not allowing Him to have His way. This is when we as players decide to take on the role of head coach. And in doing so, we replace God’s plan with our own.

Take a look at John 15:5 and notice the word remain. It indicates and identifies a challenging task for each and every one of us—to not only let Jesus take the lead, but also to allow Jesus to keep that lead at all times. John 15:5 also reveals a key condition for all of us who decide to play on God’s team: it is only through staying connected to God that the fruit-bearing occurs. He’s making it clear that we’ll never be able to accomplish anything meaningful for God without a connection to His Son.

Jesus knows that we may start off obeying His game plan but then be tempted to give up on it at some point. Jesus clearly warns that whenever we try to live according to our own set of rules, plans, or opinions, we are getting set to accomplish large amounts of nothing.