It seems to be the season! Soccer season that is. Soccer mania is sweeping the USA, since we, the USA, are a part of the hosting team for the FIFA World Cup tournament. Canada and Mexico are also a part of hosting the tournament. To be honest, I’ve never been a big soccer fan. It wasn’t a thing when I was in high school or college. I have gone to a few of the high school games while here in Mitchell. But again, I’ve never been exposed much to soccer. But since soccer is the rage right now, I thought I should watch at least one professional game during the FIFA World Cup tournament to see the best of the best play.
I’ll admit that I don’t know all the rules of soccer, in fact, I know very few of the rules of soccer. But there are a few that seem obvious; you can’t touch the ball with your hands during play, the primary way of controlling the ball is with your feet, the purpose of the game is to get the ball in your opponent’s goal, a yellow card is bad, and a red card is really bad. My other perception about the game of soccer is that there is a LOT of running. Even the referees were sweating profusely.
To me it appeared with all the players running around on the field, it seemed like chaos, but those that know the game say it’s an organized chaos. The offensive players are trying to work the ball toward the goal, and the defensive players are trying to defend their goal and take the ball away. Now, most soccer games are not high scoring games, so there isn’t necessarily a lot of “shots” being taken toward the goal. But it appears that both teams are patiently running their plays, doing their thing, and then in the flash of a moment, an opportunity appears, and ball is shot toward the goal. The goalie might stop it…but other times, the ball sails into the net and a goal is scored. In fact, I missed seeing one goal in the game I watched. I looked away for just a moment, and in that moment a goal was scored.
It strikes me that soccer is a game of high energy, high commitment, and also requires a high level of patience as well. I believe the same is true of life. To get where you want to go in life, often takes a high level of energy, commitment, but also a lot of patience. Some of you might think that sounds contradictory. How can something require high energy, commitment, and also high patience. Well, soccer teaches us a lot in this area.
I have found that when I have tried to force something to happen in my life, often it doesn’t go how I had anticipated and the outcome I desired doesn’t materialize. But if in my effort I also take on a posture of waiting, pausing for a bit to see what develops, quite often it is then that things seem to fall into place. It may not happen in the way I expect, but in the long run, what I am seeking falls into place but in a way that I couldn’t have orchestrated. Those, I believe, are Spirit moments, where God is at work, even when we may not realize it. Or as I’ve heard other preachers or theologians state it, “God will open the door…but I still have to walk through it.” I suppose in the soccer realm they might say, the path suddenly opens…but I still have to kick the ball to score.
As we each make our way through this day, may we apply the energy and commitment to faithfully serve God as we seek to be the hands and feet of Jesus. But may we also have the patience and the wisdom to see when God opens a door.
So, what are life lessons that some of you find in soccer…or your favorite sport??
Serving Together,
Pastor Keith