Being A Part of The Team

Do you remember the last time you played “Red Rover”? For those of you too “young” to recall such a game, it was played with two teams and the object was to break through the other team’s lines. How the teams were picked was by two captains who would “pick” those they wanted on their teams. Everyone would stand around the captains anxiously waiting to hear your name be called out as one captain chooses you to be one of their team. You would run to join your team as soon as your name might be called.

The names were called out and the list of players grew smaller and smaller, the anxiety would grow in the minds of those left. Who would be the last name to be called? Each child would be saying a silent prayer that their name would not be last. But always there would be that last child who everyone knew “had to be taken”. Usually this would be the smallest or less active child who everyone knew could not be expected to break through the line of the other team. They were just the leftovers of the group.

The world has a way of only seeing the outside of the person. It sees the size or the speed or some other factor in which it will judge the worth of this or that person. The world cannot see any further than the outside. The world cannot see what is on the inside or what makes up the heart of the person. You are judged by factors that are alien to you and forced into some sort of system that will dictate how we respond to each other.

Maybe this is why we have such a hard time with how God seems to view us. There's no such arbitrary systems that we must match or live up to. There are no levels that we must earn to receive more of God’s love and care. God does not look on just the outside of the person, but God can look further on the inside of each one of us and God sees all that makes each of us special to God.

God wants each of us on God’s team no matter what we bring with us. God does not care about what we don’t have to bring. God is only interested in what we do have to bring with us. God can use each of our abilities and God will place us in the just right position on the team to make the biggest impact for the team. Our name is always being called out and we will never be the last to hear our names.

We should be always running to join the team. We should always be expressing our joy for being able to be on God’s team. “We come as we are, without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bid’st we come to thee, O Lamb of God we come, we come.”

Thanks be to the God of the universe that sees beyond that of the world and loves what God sees. We are each members of the team that God has selected and we each bring with us the gifts that God has given each of us. We support the team with our gifts and talents.

Praying for you as I hope you are praying for me

-Craig