CHRISTIANS ARE LIKE SOCCER PLAYERS

Christianity is like a sport.

Let's say that it's like soccer.

It's a really great game but some would disagree because they've never played it. 

Some don't even know what a soccer ball looks like. 

Half the reason some people don't like it and don't play it is because the people that they have seen who do play it and who they have put their faith in to play it well have put up such a horrid display of it that it makes the game look unattractive. 

They have been let down so many times by their team that they lose the drive to get onto the pitch.
Some teams just keep losing so people begin to lose hope in the entire concept.
There becomes remnants of it in parks and back gardens but it can't be fully enjoyed because rules are changed to suit certain people and certain teams.
People begin to cheat.
The way the game was intend to be played has been forgotten. 

People have added on and taken away rules to suit themselves. 

Some have thrown the rule book away completely.

And some have even replaced the rule book all together with a different, made-up rule book.
For some the game has become about winning and becoming great as an individual, not realizing that it is a team effort and that it was invented to be enjoyed by all and that at the end of the day the focus isn't on winning but rather on the enjoyment of the game - winning is a byproduct. 

Others are part of the team but they have been out of form and become complacent and now prefer to sit on the sideline and watch the team take the victory and then expect celebrate with them afterwards.
Some are playing it with broken soccer balls or on bad quality pitches or without shin guards, thinking that they are getting all they can out of it, not knowing how much better it could be, unaware of the potential that they could unlock if they were to play on a proper field with the right equipment.
Some have taken to thinking that they can play it as an individual sport, so they stand in the corner of the field dribbling the ball about on their own trying to teach themselves. 

They might even have a rule book but without a captain to guide them it will only get them so far. 

They don't realize how much more there is to the game because they refuse to be team players, using excuses like "but the team just wants to take my money" or "I don't want to join a team because I don't like the type of game that they play", ignorant to the fact that it is only in a team that they can become better players and increase their skills. 

Sometimes you need somebody else to look at your technique to be able to pick up why you may be kicking the ball skew or missing the target.
Some are training on their own, with nobody to motivate them to do better - it is necessary to train with a partner, a "spotter" if you will - somebody to tell you where you are going wrong, congratulate you when you lift heavier weights and to encourage and motivate you to push yourself to do more and to be better.
Some teams are missing a captain, not knowing that if there is not proper leadership in place the team has no structure and will fall apart.

Christians are like soccer players.
They don't always score goals but they try, and when they do it's because they have been trained well and have persevered and because they have put their faith in a good coach, even when the coaching techniques have seemed odd. 

Their coaches name is Jesus.
They should be part of a team - a church. 

The team won't always win but with good captaincy (leadership), a rule book in hand (the Bible) and faith in the coach, they can play the game right and improve.
Just because you see a bad soccer player who disgraces the game, does not mean you should stop yourself from taking it up. 

Sometimes we even see people who dress and act like soccer players but they don't even know how to kick a soccer ball. 

In the same way some people call themselves Christians and act a bit like Christians but don't, in fact, know Christ. 

We can't let that stop us from being great players and representatives of Him.
We are not called to be hypocrites or back-garden Christians, making up our own rules. 

We are not meant to be playing on dust with flat soccer balls. 

We are meant to be playing on lush green fields with the best quality equipment that Jesus has entrusted to us through the church. 

We are called to walk in the fullness of Christ, alongside our teammates as part of the greater body of Christ. We are called to be successful players and we are called to show the world how real soccer should be played. 

We are called to be humble and to give credit to our coach because without him we would never have learnt to play the game.

As Christians we are constantly on display. We are in the world cup stadium. People are watching and waiting to see how we play the game. How we conduct ourselves. How we handle big hits and defeats. How we are humble in victory and how we play with sportsmanship. They are ready to boo us when we play badly and like some good soccer teams, we need to be prepared to be booed and cussed at even when we play well and when we are on top. The best teams in the league are loved by few and hated by many, just for being who they are and representing what they represent. We need to be ready for that. We can never become arrogant, conceited or complacent because that is when we will fall. And that is what our opposition wants.
The world needs to see us be who we say we are as Christians. 

If we are not who we say we are, then what we do and who we are loses all value.

It's time for Christians to wake up, to stop kicking the ball to ourselves and to stop playing in the back garden by our own rules, to get off the sidelines, to stop making excuses and to start being genuine. 

It's time to get serious.

Because Christianity is actually nothing like soccer.

It's a matter of life and death!

Soccer is just a game that a lot of people get far too worked up over for their own good.
If Christians really were like soccer players, or if they were even half as passionate about the church as some soccer fans are about "their" teams, then Jesus would probably have returned a long time ago to claim his bride and to take his team home.

These are just my thoughts