Against All Odds

This is by far my favorite time of year. The leaves are changing colors, the temperatures are dropping and the boys of fall are hard at work. Football is an incredible game. It teaches hard work, discipline, courage, and teamwork. There is something quite special about a team running sprints and enduring drills together all week to prepare for one contest that lasts only a few hours. Within that short time frame, they are tested against others who have been doing the same things but only one group of athletes can walk off the battlefield possessing the pride that comes with victory. Some games are epic, and some are not. Some games seem to matter more than others. In the state of Alabama, the most important game of the regular season is played the week of Thanksgiving. The entire state stands still for this competition of rivals, and nothing else matters during those 4 quarters. Many memorable moments have occurred during Ironbowls, but the most famous ones come from years when one team was seen as the underdog and fought hard enough to win. That is what I love most about football: a team without great athletes can still find the power within themselves to win because they know what they are capable of and they “want it” more.

This is why nearly all movies about sports follow that narrative. The underdog finds strength within himself to overcome the odds and compete successfully. But first he has to overcome his own doubts and recognize (often with the help of an older mentor) what his true capabilities are. Then he can go on to win. The audience is cheering for him the whole time, begging quietly for him to use his abilities to their fullest, not stifling his own progress.

Paul tells the Romans that he is not ashamed of the Gospel because it is the “power of God for salvation” (Romans 1:16). This Gospel was given to Paul and the other disciples to carry to the ends of the earth. In carrying the Gospel, they were carrying the power of God. We too have been given the Gospel to carry, and we too are carrying the power of God. However, sometimes we behave like the athlete at the beginning of the movie who doesn’t use all the resources at his disposal and is therefore a failure at what he wants to do the most. As Christians, we must realize that we posses the power of God. We may be underdogs in a world with far more non-Christians than Christians. We may not feel like we can do what we have been called to do. Yet, Jesus said in Matthew 19:26 that what is not possible with men is possible with God. It may be true that we could never accomplish our mission by ourselves, but we are not told to do that. We are told to accomplish our mission by relying on God because that’s the only way it will get done. Do not forget the power that you possess. Unleash God’s power in your life and see how he uses you to turn the world upside down.