Athlete, it is All Yours

PLAYBOOK DEVOTIONAL

Athlete, it is All Yours

Jason Cooper

1 Corinthians 3:21-22 (NIV)

So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours.

Many successful college coaches are known to recruit multi-sport high school athletes. 

Here’s why: 

1) Multi-sport athletes have less injuries, because they have learned to perform a wide variety of motor skills. 

2) They tend to be good learners and coachable. 

3) They are competitive by nature. 

4) They transition smoother into other positions. 

5) They are less prone to burnout. 

Let’s make an analogy between the multi-sport athlete and the multi-disciplined Christian. 

I’m going to say something that might sound crazy at first. But I’ll explain it. 

Here it is: Being a Jesus follower today, we can get too specialized in what we consider or label “Christian.” You might wonder, “How can that be? If not being Christian enough is our problem, how can it be a problem to be too Christian?”

It can be a liability, for the same reason playing only one sport can be. 

As we near the midpoint of the 21st century, we know more about neurobiology, astrology, psychology, geology, anthropology, virology – and all the ologies – than we ever have. 

So, why major in just theology or what we consider “Christian” when there are things to learn about God from all the ologies

I can almost hear your rebuttal. Maybe, it’s this: “Theology is the paramount ology and without it, no other ology matters. It’s the particulars about God that are crucial, not the universals.” I agree.

But, at the same time, just like our primary sport benefits from playing other sports, our Jesus-following benefits by being informed by other ologies

We might be leery of entertaining that idea, because in our culture, the sciences and ologies are often pitted against Christianity. It’s either faith or science. It’s either the natural world or supernatural world. We think they’re at odds. 

But, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1). And if Jesus is who we say He is — the one whom through all things were made – science and the ologies are not opposed to our faith. They don’t threaten it either. They affirm and enhance it. They are even part of it. 

Something enabled Paul to say, “all things are yours,” and it wasn’t the notion that just Christian books, Christian music, Christian authors, and Christian churches are the only things related to Christ. 

Granted, in that text Paul was contending with people who were boasting about following certain human leaders. But he was also expressing a wider conviction – since we are of Christ, who is over all, through all, and in all – all is ours. 

If the Christology Paul lays forth is true, there is no ology divorced from Jesus. So, we operationally reject Paul’s Christology if we divorce Christ from any ology

Student athlete, you are surrounded by all types of studies and ologies

You have biblical grounds to be rooted in all of them. 

God set your feet in spacious places, not cramped quarters.

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