Josiah Road

JUMPING OVER THE BOARDS

posted by Daniel Blackaby 3Mar

Over the years, a few sports teams have risen above the rest: The 1972 Dolphins for example. However, as Isaac Newton said: “With every action there is an equal reaction,” and with every great sports team - there is a horrendous one. Introducing my childhood inline-hockey team.

At the season’s three-quarter mark, we had the dubious distinction of being the league’s only winless team. I was the unfortunate soul selected as goaltender. For one particular game, several of our players were out of town, leaving us with a single substitute. To make matters worse, we were playing “The Purple Team.” They had never lost.

Inching nervously out of our dressing room, we saw them. Their mature, muscular bodies towered above us as they whizzed past performing perfectly executed drills. I heard my brother Mike whisper shakily behind me, “We can’t play these guys…they have mustaches!”

The whistle sounded - the game began. The rink morphed into a gladiator coliseum. Our players were being rag-dolled and effortlessly tossed around. On our bench, I saw pale-faced Mike: The first sub. As a bloody, mangled carcass of a teammate dragged himself on all-fours, whimpering toward our bench I closed my eyes: Lord, if it be your will…please allow my brother not to die!

Taking a deep breath, Mike jumped over the boards. Racing straight towards the opposing team’s largest (and hairiest) player and doing the unthinkable - he threw a body check. The purple-jersey behemoth staggered, stunned, before swatting Mike away like a fly. But I watched something amazing begin to happen. Our small, grossly over-matched team began playing their hearts out.

Each time a beaten warrior would stumble back to the bench, our sub unhesitantly jumped over the boards to join the battle, continually knocked down, but relentlessly jumping back up.

When the buzzer rang to end the game, a silent and shocked audience sat starring at the scoreboard: Purple 2 - Blue 11.

As Christians we have a daunting task. We battle head-on with a sinful world for the souls of people, and the world will utilize its key players: Hollywood, the Internet, peer pressure, etc. Every time a weary player skated to our bench, our substitute faced a challenging decision. They could give plenty of excuses to stay “riding the pine” in safety, or they could jump boldly over the bench, knowing full well the price that might be asked of them. As Christians we can sit comfortably in our churches, cheering on our pastors and evangelists, or we can join the action.

Have you been watching others struggle in the world while you sit comfortably back from the fray? Have you been waiting for someone to take the lead? Realize that simply becoming a Christian does not win the battle any more than signing up for our hockey team won us a game. Joining the battle is not a one-time decision; it is a commission we must accept daily (Luke 9:23-24) Perhaps it’s time to jump over the boards and join the game.