You Are Not on the Sidelines

2 Peter 1:2-15

Reflection:

             Being a Christian isn’t a spectator sport. We don’t wait on the sidelines to see if we might be picked to play. No, Peter reminds us, we have already been chosen! Nothing we do from this point forward affects that. We are on God’s team, like it or not.

            Now that we’re in the game, we are simply called to play like we’ve been chosen. Faith has been given to us – our job is just to support that faith with goodness, knowledge, self-control, endurance, godliness, mutual affection, and love. These are the rules of the game. Forgetting the rules doesn’t get us kicked off the team – it just means that we’ve been short-sighted and forgotten that we are no longer on the sidelines.

            Could it be that Sunday worship is more about reminding us of our calling than lecturing us on our morals? Could it be that reading the Bible is more about reminding us of our calling than it is about telling us how to get on the team? Could it be that, through Jesus Christ, we have already been included in God’s loving work in the world?

            Indeed, all of this is confirmed by the most beautiful line in the above reading: We have become “participants in the divine nature.”  May we pause today to contemplate what it means to be participating in the very life of God in the world.

So don't forget: because of your baptism, you're not on the sidelines anymore! Get in there and PLAY! (And maybe you'll find out it actually is fun...)

Prayer: God of all nations, remind us today that you have chosen us, and give us the strength and perseverance we need to participate in your life and work in the world. Amen.