Be in there

The world of sport can be a hard place to be a Christian. Sometimes we do feel so different to the people around us. We feel, as Peter says, like “foreigners and exiles.” We just don’t fit in, we have a completely different worldview. One response would be to change ourselves, and conform to our friends in sport - but we saw last week that we are called for better than that.

Another response is to withdraw. It would be so much easier not to go to socials, or not to stay long. Spending time at home or with Christian friends can feel much more natural. Perhaps, depending on your sporting context, you might be tempted to pull out of the club all together. It can feel like a battle to get really stuck in with our sports clubs.

And yet Peter warns us not only against conforming, but also against withdrawing. He calls us to “live such good lives among the pagans.” We are to live among those who don’t know Christ, not abandon them. Why? Because “though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

As we live out our faith among our sports friends, this can actually impact their salvation! This can affect their eternity! Even though they might think we are wrong, God can use our good deeds to bring others to worship Him on the day He comes back.

What does this look like for us?

Whilst we often lead busy lives with many demands on our time, what could it look like for you, in your own context, to really get among your sports friends? What could it look like for you to share life with them such that they can really see something different about you? That they can see your good deeds which can point them to Christ?

• Perhaps it is going along to socials, or sticking around for the team meal.
• Perhaps it is meeting up with people outside training and competition, and inviting them into your home.
• Perhaps it is maximizing opportunities at training, to arrive early and leave late, using the time to intentionally get to know those around you.
• Perhaps it is being part of the committee, or taking on some role to serve the club.

This might feel uncomfortable, it might come at a cost. But let’s not be surprised by that. We are foreigners and exiles, we are not meant to feel at home here. We can remember that even though we might feel like an outsider, our true identity is as the ‘people of God’ (v10).

We can remember that while our life here is temporary, we can look forward to our heavenly home.

Prayerfully think through what it might look like for you, with the reminder that as we live among our sports friends we want to live such “good lives” which point to God.

→ What will it look like to get among your sports friends this week?

Pray for yourself

Thank you God that you want to use even us to point others to you. Thank you that you have a plan for us in the world of sport.

Please help us to get stuck in with our sports friends and live such good lives that even though they accuse us of doing wrong, they may see our good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

Pray for your friends

Finally, take a few minutes to pray for those in your sport - that God will open a door for his message in your club or team this Game Day.