Football season is upon us. Some of us have been looking forward to it since the end of the last one … others have been dreading it. (As a friend said, “Not everyone can like football, someone has to serve the snacks!”)
We’ve been watching the pre-season games. While football purists don’t care for pre-season, I rather like it. It’s mostly the newly recruited players, the young men trying to make the teams, putting their all out there hoping to gather the attention of the coaches and survive the inevitable cuts that must happen as the teams are paired down to regulated size.
Watching these young men play hard for their future inspires me. Sometimes it is glorious and you know they are going to succeed. Other times it is sad as injuries are incurred which dictate the end of their season or career before it has even begun. (Thursday night we watched as two players were carted off the field with injuries. Thankfully, both are going to be okay.)
I think the characteristic that dominates in pre-season is hope. Each one is hopeful that success will come their way. Each is hopeful that they will have a bright future.
Hope. For these young men hope springs out of their talents and opportunities. For us, hope is from a different source. Paul began his first letter to Timothy by identifying the source of his hope: “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope.” [1 Tim 1:1 NIV]
Christ Jesus, our hope. It is not our own talents, nor the opportunities granted by others which secures our hope. It is Christ Jesus. He is the sure foundation for our hope. All the blessings of God are not wishful thinking. They are a sure hope, secured by our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us be thankful today that our hope does not rest on our own talents or capabilities. Let us be thankful today that our sure hope is secured by Christ Jesus our LORD.
