What I've Learned about the Gospel through Fantasy Football :)

If you know me at all, you know that I might be a little competitive...ok, very competitive :) But if you grew up in the family I did, you have to be competitive to survive. My family lives, eats, and breathes sports and competition. I also like winning :) I even find board games competitive, and my husband won't even play games with me unless we are on the same team, so the competition doesn't get too intense. Haha! Well, I love football, and I love fantasy football. I like the excitement of the competition each week, watching which players are going to play well and how your team is going to do. So, bear with me as I connect this to what I have been learning about the gospel and grace the past few months...

Grace has always been a hard concept for me to grasp. As a matter of fact, I would say I am just truly learning what it is for the first time in my life, and it is humbling. I want to write more on thoughts about what I am learning in another post, but I was just connecting these dots last night after winning my fantasy football game :) With fantasy football, all I do is pick the players that I want to play on my team. And, although some players are pretty consistent, most of them vary from week to week. So, they may play incredible one weekend and score lots of points for my team, and then the next weekend, when I am depending on them to carry the team, they may not do so good, or not get much playing time, or get hurt, etc. The point is, all I do is pick my players and hope they play good. I don't get out there on the field and play. I don't practice all week, play an intense game, and then wake up sore for the next few days. I don't even watch the games all the time, depending on what we are doing all weekend. So, as much as the competitive side in me would just love to take all the credit for my fantasy football win, as if I had played on the actual football field, and won, I really can't. I don't do anything to win that game.

So, that is what I am learning about grace... as much as the flesh in me would love to take credit for the things I do, I simply can't. It is not about what I do, but about what has already been done for me on the cross, as my husband so often says. I so often try to work to earn God's favor, as well as the favor of others. But I am learning that grace is this incredible, rescuing gift God gives us. It is this overwhelming, all consuming gift. In the words of All Sons and Daughters, "You broke my chains of sin and shame, and you covered me with grace... I am set free." I still have a lot in my heart to grasp about this grace thing, but God is wrecking me. So, although grace is not just a chance you take, like I take on my players each week in fantasy football, it is nothing that I can take credit for. I can only rejoice in the victory :)