When U.S. sports officials gather to watch America's best hockey players try out for the 1980 Olympic team in the movie Miracle, there's something they don't know. Coach Herb Brooks has already made his list.

When Herb's assistant coach sees the list, he says, "You're missing some of the best players."

"I'm not looking for the best players," replies Herb, "I'm looking for the right ones."

Herb has chosen his players not based on who is best, but on who will be suitable for certain needs, who will work well together, and who will match up well against opponents.

Miracle is my favorite sports movie of all time. When I saw it, I realized how true Herb's words are—and not just in sports. They carry real truth for us as disciples of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus picked the 12 disciples, he didn't pick the elite of society. He picked the uneducated, the unprivileged, the outcasts—a strange mix. But each of these men had their strengths, their gifts, their passions and their places in God's big plan. God has created every one of us with our own gifts, strengths and passions to fulfill our roles in his "team"—not the "best" talents, necessarily, but the right ones. In comparing the church to Christ's body, Paul says this about serving on God's team: "A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. That's how it is with us" (Romans 12: 4-5, CEV).

It seems to me that sports stories often have a lot in common with life as a Christian. After all, many of the struggles, goals and principles of living life as an athlete are pretty comparable to being a believer. Even New Testament writer Paul saw the connection between Christian life and sports. In his letters, he used the major sport of his day—racing—as an analogy to explain faith six different times.

Nowadays, we have several more sports than just foot racing. (Hockey wasn't so big in ancient Israel.) So, there are even more comparisons we can make between biblical principles and classic sports stories. Here are five I've noticed.

Teamwork
In Gridiron Gang, Sean Porter, a counselor for juvenile delinquents, draws upon his love of football to find a way to bring together a rough group of rival gang members. "Whatever gang you claim," Sean tells the players, "whatever 'hood you're from, this is your 'hood now."

Gang members Willie and Calvin show it's not that simple. Willie is an "88" and Calvin is a "95"—two L.A. gangs locked in a violent territorial war. But gradually, Calvin and Willie gain respect for each other. Eventually, they and their fellow teammates come together not just as a team, but a family.

Just because believers in Christ claim the same Lord, they don't always see eye-to-eye. We may each be part of one body like Romans 12 says, but that doesn't mean everything automatically works well. We each have our own unique personalities, prejudices, goals and desires—and often can have big differences. Jesus' closest friends, his disciples, often let big egos divide them. In Mark 9, Jesus caught his disciples arguing about which of them would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He said to them, "Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else" (NIV).

In other words, the key to teamwork is seeing our need for one another. In one of his letters to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, "The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I don't need you!' And the head cannot say to the feet, 'I don't need you!' … But God has combined the members of the body … so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it (1 Corinthians 12: 20-26, NIV)." We're a team.

Practice, practice, practice
Anyone who's ever wanted to become good at anything knows that practice is key. In the basketball movie Glory Road, Coach Don Haskins tells his team, "You'll play basketball my way," he asserts. "My way is hard." And that way means practice, practice, and more practice.

We, as disciples of Christ, also follow a way that's hard. It too requires daily practice. We must live our faith every day. That means praying, getting together for encouragement, and being a part of teaching and worship.

It means practicing love, mercy, patience and forgiveness—all so that we can be better spiritual athletes and be prepared when tough times come.

Athletes practice daily to make their bodies stronger and skills sharper. Believers practice daily to make their faith stronger and their relationship with Christ sharper. Paul writes, "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice" (Philippians 4:9, NIV). Live it out, Paul says. Faith is not just about cramming a bunch of religious facts in our heads. It's an action. We need to practice it and work on it every day.

As James 2:17-18 says, "Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. … I will show you my faith by what I do" (NIV).

Perseverance through pain
In We Are Marshall, nearly the entire Marshall University football team dies in a plane crash. There isn't a soul in the school's hometown unaffected by this tragedy—everyone lost someone. They can't understand their loss or see how to continue. After the tragedy, football seems so trivial.

Still, football becomes a way for the town to keep going, persevere and come together. Football gives them hope. It gives them something normal again. It's not about winning. It's about getting back on the field and playing. And very slowly, the town's trials eventually lead to greater strength.

Being a Christian does not exempt anyone from hard times. It's never easy to understand why bad things happen, but like in We Are Marshall, we have to continue living with faith that our hard times will be redeemed.

In fact, the Bible says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. … Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him" (James 1:2-4 and 12, NIV).

Sportsmanship
In the movie Coach Carter, Ken Carter coaches a basketball team of show-offs and trash talkers. After one game, he chews them out, "What gives you the right to taint the game I love with trash-talk and taunting? What gives you the right to act like punks?"

When one player argues that other teams do the same, Carter says, "So? You can't show some class? Act like a champion?"

Paul similarly instructs believers: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3, NIV).

What Carter and Paul are both looking for is fair play, humility and respectful living. Really, that respect comes down to simple love. In 1 Corinthians 13, it says that love is never boastful, proud, rude or self-seeking. Instead, true love ought to exhibit kindness and self-control. It should build others up instead of tearing them down. And it should always lead us to act like true champions.

Overcoming all odds
Boxer James J. Braddock is close to becoming the World Heavyweight Champion. But then the Great Depression starts. His family lives in a shack with barely enough food, and Braddock struggles to find any work he can.

Then, Braddock's love for his family drives him to rise above the Depression and become a winner in the ring once again. At first, few believe in him. But he overcomes great odds to be a hero.

Stories about underdogs—like Cinderella Man—move us all. We know what it's like to feel like we haven't got a chance in the world. So we love movies where the long shot finds the will to triumph. They help us believe that we too can rise to the challenge.

What does the story of an underdog have to do with being a Christian? Well, the Bible tells the story of underdogs who were lost and hopeless. Death and sin had humans down for the count until a humble carpenter born in a manger (how's that for a Cinderella story?) sacrificed himself for us and then rose again, overcoming death and sin for all.

That's why Paul writes, "We are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Romans 8:37, NIV). Truly, if God is on our side, who can be against us?

Nobody. With Christ, we can truly be triumphant and join Paul in declaring, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7, NIV).

Read more from 'Faith & Values'

				Try an Issue of Ignite Your Faith Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. Click here for International orders. If you decide you want to keep Ignite Your Faith coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive eight more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The trial issue is yours to keep, regardless. Give Ignite Your Faith as a gift Buy 1 gift subscription, get 1 FREE!

FREE Newsletters Subscribe to the Ignite Your Faith Connection Newsletter: Subscribe to the Christian College Guide Newsletter:    RSS Feed   RSS Help