What FIFA Referees Have In Common With God

Certainly not omniscience! (This will come as no surprise to anyone who saw the Nigeria v Bosnia game.)

No, not omniscience. Nor a perfect sense of justice.

But I won't keep you in suspense. The answer to the riddle is this: they both have final say on when the game is over, and the moment they choose to end it is shrouded in secrecy.

A silly riddle? Sure... but I didn't come up with it on purpose. It's the byproduct of another realization that's been rattling around in my head over the past week or two.

The reality is that I sometimes feel (in life) a bit like a soccer player trying to figure out how to play out the minutes.

Anybody who has watched recent World Cup games knows what I'm talking about. Take the USA v Ghana game. The Americans were fortunate enough to score in the first 30 seconds.

But the game lasts 90 minutes. So what do you do now?

Well, here's a bad idea. Try to "play out the minutes" with an insipid passing game. Watch the clock wind down.

Problem is, when you're not playing to win, you're usually playing to lose. And your opponent is likely still playing to win.

As it worked out, Ghana tied up the game at 82 minutes. Oops. The Americans were fortunate enough to score again and win, but rest assured the Americans got a bit more frantic once the score was tied.

And who can forget Portugal pulling a tie against the sleeping Americans in the last 15 seconds of the game? Double Oops.

Enough on soccer. What about life?

Well, truth be told, sometimes I feel like I'm not playing to win.

What exactly do I mean?

When you're playing to win, time is your friend. More time means more opportunities for you to score.

When you're playing the clock, time is your enemy. More time means more opportunities for you to be scored upon.

Sometimes I feel like I've lost my motivation in life to actively accomplish things — and I'm just trying to not give in to sin while I wait for God to wind my clock down.

That's not what God had in mind for me. Not the attitude God wants me to have. It's a very dangerous place to be, spiritually speaking.

So I should have higher aspirations than sin-avoidance? Yes. The Apostle Paul has already described it well. And he used a sporting analogy to boot!

1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

In short, St. Paul exhorts all of us to become like Christ.

So... What does that look like? A hint. Here's what it doesn't look like.

Wherever Christ went, people didn't say, "Wow, here comes the sinless man! Look at how he never does anything wrong!!"

No! Jesus was indeed sinless, but that wasn't his calling card.

What did people say about Jesus? Try these on for size.

John 7:46
The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!”

John 6:68
Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life."

Luke 11:14
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed.

Luke 9:42
Even while the boy was coming, the demon threw him to the ground in a convulsion. But Jesus rebuked the impure spirit, healed the boy and gave him back to his father. And they were all amazed at the greatness of God.

Luke 7:16
They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

So the hallmark of "Jesus in town" is not absence. It's presence.

It's action. Someone doing good. Someone speaking words of life.

When Jesus is around, people say, “God has come to help his people.”

I cannot resist a silly analogy. Jesus scored an early game-winner. But 2,000 years later the clock is still running.

The referee says the game is still on. How do we play out the minutes?

Are we playing for a 1-0 victory? Well, we might be, but God is clearly not. If a 1-0 victory were sufficient, God would have blown the whistle a long, long time ago. God is looking for action.

FIFA and St. Paul together remind me to keep my eye on the prize.

Not the clock.

To Be Continued...