God loves us.

God pursues us in our pain of sin.

God redeems us through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus.

God empowers us through the Holy Spirit.

God has a purpose for us to fulfill.

This is the good news of the gospel. We are created, pursued, redeemed, empowered and given a purpose. We are charged with telling others about what God has done for us.

God calls all believers to be Christ’s ambassadors, but the Christian athlete has the honor of representing Jesus Christ in the distinct arena of arenas.

How about your arena? Who is watching you compete? Are there parents and family members, referees, opposing athletes and coaches, teachers, administrators, fellow students, fans, the media sitting in the stands, streaming the game or watching on TV?

Athlete, how you respond to the hardships of the game, your actions and attitudes, are on display for all to see. This is both a thrilling and chilling realization.

What is the message that you are displaying as you’re playing? Actions speak louder than words, and that’s certainly true in the mission field of sports.

Are you demonstrating a message of selfishness or selflessness, pride or humility, performance or relationship, idolatry or godliness, materialism or self-control, hatred or love?

How you represent Christ through sports is part of your ministry of reconciliation. Using your God-given gifts and talents, you introduce others to Jesus, and your life compels them to seek Him.

There’s a beautiful old song titled, “They’ll Know We are Christians by Our Love,” and the songwriter was inspired by Jesus’ own words, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).

That sounds so simple doesn’t it? But the world DOES NOT “love one another”! Therefore, love and unity among Christians is a radical testimony.

You should love all your teammates, but you should experience a supernatural love for those who are your brothers and sisters in Christ, “… standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27).

This kind of oneness and unity is irresistible to a broken, divided and unloved world!

A prayer to consider: Lord, help me to walk as Your ambassador to the sports world, unveiling what supernatural love looks like!