H C T I W S CAN I
TEAMS?
GET TING FROM THE LOSING SIDE TO THE WINNING TEAM BEFORE THE FINAL WHISTLE . . .
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k c i K Off
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“Football is a simple game; 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win.” Gary Lineker (after losing the 1990 World Cup semifinal to Germany on penalties)
efore kick-off there’s everything to play for. Anything can happen. Either side can win. But what if you were playing for Ghana in the 2014 World Cup? Clint Dempsey scored against them in just 29 seconds! Or what about when Belgium’s Christian Benteke took just 8.1 seconds to find the back of the net against Gibralta in 2016?! And do you remember the South Korean team who went a goal down from Hakan Şükür’s strike after just 11 seconds in 2002? Those teams went from the excitement of kick-off to the pain of losing within a few kicks! But giving away an early goal isn’t the only way things can go wrong on the field. In 1986 Uruguay’s José Batista got shown the quickest red card in World Cup history. He was sent off against Scotland for bringing down Gordon Strachan in the first minute! And Sead Kolašinac scored the fastest ever World Cup own goal in 2014—after just 3 minutes! Now imagine you’re playing the biggest game of your life. And just a few minutes after kick off all of those things have happened to you and your team: you’ve scored an own goal, let the opposition find the net a few more times and you’ve been sent off. You’d probably wish the ground would swallow you up! But what if this was more than just a bad game? What if this is what life is really like?
The g n i s o L Side
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“I would not be bothered if we lost every game, as long as we won the league.” Mark Viduka
ootball hurts when you’re on the losing side. Life hurts when you’re losing too. We all know how it feels to go through a break up, lose a job, get a serious illness, run out of money (again), etc., etc. Too often we’re on the losing side. In football, it’s even worse when it’s your fault the team is doing so badly. Again, it’s the same in normal life. If our own choices have led us to lose people or hit rock bottom, it hurts. Not that we want to admit things are our fault when they go wrong. Sometimes it feels much better to be like the teammates who start brawling on the pitch because we’re blaming each other for the mess we’re in. Or sometimes we try to fix our problems alone. We stop trusting the people round us. It’s like running into the box and lashing a panicky shot straight at the keeper, rather than squaring the ball for the striker to tap in. How many times have you screamed at the TV when you’ve seen a player do that? But we all have that instinct to push others away and just do stuff on our own—often getting us into more of a mess. Sometimes it feels like there isn’t much point playing. It’s like we’ve let our team down, hurt those who are closest to us, lost the crowd and have no way of fixing it. Why bother? No matter how well or badly we do in life, we’re going to die at some point anyway and lose everything we’ve worked for, everything we have and everyone we love. It’s like, no matter how hard we try, we’re on the losing side and there is nothing we can do about it. And doesn’t it feel like if there is a God, as a ref he’s doing a pretty poor job? He’s just watching the game without caring . . .
“It was like the ref had a brand new yellow card and wanted to see if it worked.”
What f o d n i K Referee is God?
Richard Rufus
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f we were to say, for now, that there is a God, then what kind of ref do we think he is? Given the way the world works, we might have a few thoughts on the type he is most like: The ref that’s out to get you: We all know about these referees. They stare you down as soon as you’re on the pitch. They don’t like you, not for one second, and they can’t wait to prove that you’re a nasty piece of work. These refs blow up every two minutes to flash their cards about and show they’re in charge. They’re picky and looking to make your life miserable! The ref that needs new specs: Probably the type we’re most used to coming across! These boys couldn’t find the penalty spot with a map and a flashing neon sign. They’re always looking the wrong way or missing the important stuff because they’re too far behind the action. To be honest, these referees hardly seem in control at all. You might think either one of these descriptions sums up any potential god pretty well. But the Bible has a description for God too—the perfect ref. How can that be, when the world is such a messy place and we always seem to be losing out in some way? God lets play continue. Not because he doesn’t care—but because he gives us the freedom to choose our actions, make our own decisions and face the results. The Bible tells us He is very close to us, ready for us to turn to Him for help. But He doesn’t force us to talk to Him. God wants us all to choose to live with him, follow his tactics and know his care and protection—but we rarely do. If ever. He will blow the final whistle soon. This world will come to a close and the winners’ medals or otherwise will be handed out. If we have made a mess of things, ignored God and always been on the losing side, should we expect to win a trophy after we die? No. The Bible warns us that we will face judgement for how we have lived. Because God is the perfect ref, he will make sure that everyone gets what’s coming to them. Which isn’t very comforting.
g n i t t e G d e b b u S “That’s great. Tell him he’s Pelé and get him back on.” John Lambie (on finding out one of his concussed players no longer knew who he was)
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ormally getting subbed isn’t a good thing. It means you’re injured, not playing well or the manager wants to change tactics (and they don’t feature you; never a good sign). But God has said that, unlike in football, getting subbed in life is the best thing that can happen to us. And any of us can take him up on the offer—even if we feel like we’ve been sent off already. Allowing ourselves to be subbed means we agree that we’re not up to this game. We know we can’t win. We know we haven’t got enough in the tank to make it. We know that, even if we work our socks off and make a real go of things, we’re still going to die in the end and lose it all anyway. There’s just no winning. So why not think about the substitution God offers? Jesus is our perfect substitute. Over 2,000 years ago he came to earth as proof not only that God exists, but also that he wants to move us from the losing side to the winning team. The Bible tells us that Jesus came to earth for one main reason: to take our place as our substitute for life. He lived the perfect life that we can’t, pleasing God in everything and never
committing any fouls. Then he died the death we deserve. He was executed on a cross of wood, not as an accident or because he was some radical hippy—but because it was God’s plan. “[Jesus] suffered for our sins [the way we ignore God, live just for ourselves and do things we know are wrong] once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God” (1 Peter chapter 3, verse 18, the Bible). Think of it like this: when Jesus runs onto the pitch, any fouls we’ve committed, any cards we’ve been shown and any own goals we’ve scored all go against his name in the match report. And against our name is the perfect game he actually played! It’s a total swap! That’s what Jesus did for us when he died. When he came back to life three days later, he promised that death was beaten. It’s not the end any more. If we let him be our sub and we agree to trust him, we get a totally fresh start. A new life. And a new team! We’re no longer playing on the losing side, trying to make ends meet. And God’s no longer the referee; now he’s our manager! We’re on his team.
New Team; New r e g a n Ma
“I’ve never wanted to leave. I’m here for the rest of my life, and hopefully after that as well.” Alan Shearer (on his loyalty to Newcastle United)
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ho’s responsible for a team’s performance? The players or the manager? The argument on that one goes all round the houses. But, at the end of the day, the only person getting sacked if the team keeps doing badly is the manager. It’s up to the manager to decide tactics, positioning, setpiece play and everything else really. The players just need to understand their jobs, follow the instructions and play within the boundaries they’re given. That’s just what it’s like on God’s team. As ‘players’ we are responsible for how we perform (are we listening to our manager? Are we looking out for our teammates? Are we trusting Jesus?). But in the end, the responsibility of the team and the result comes down to God. And he will get us the win. The game is already won because Jesus died and came back to life. All we’ve done wrong is paid for in his death, and new unending life with God has been offered in his new life. We will still go through tough stuff as part of God’s team; we’ll still get sick, struggle to make ends meet and feel like things are unfair. But now in everything (including these problems and bad patches) God is with us to help us through. And after it all, we have a place in heaven to look forward to. Jesus promised: “There is more than enough room in my Father’s home . . . When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am” (John chapter 14, verses 2-3, the Bible). The game plan and the win are God’s. We just have to trust and follow him.
The d w o r C
W “I was watching United out against Liverpool, I was shocked to see Sheasy [John O’Shea] score, and I decided to call him, but then I realised he was on the pitch.” David Beckham (on John O’Shea’s goal in Manchester United’s 1-0 victory over Liverpool in 2007)
hen we join God’s team, we get new teammates called church. All Christians are God’s family—so our family too. Suddenly from an empty stadium where we felt like the world was on our shoulders, it’s like we have the whole crowd cheering us on. That’s what church is. A place where everyone is on the same team and wants to help each other keep following God’s game plan, stick close to Jesus and head towards heaven. We’re no longer alone; there is a worldwide family we’re a part of forever! Not that this family is perfect; all Christians have their own problems to work through. But everyone in God’s family knows they need Jesus and that he’ll get them through. Following God’s game plan isn’t always easy. He asks us to do some difficult things, like giving up selfish stuff, saying sorry to anyone we’ve hurt and talking about him with our mates. But that’s why it’s so good to know we have our team to help us. God never meant life to be tackled solo. It’s a team sport. And we have the best manager. As the ref, God says we’re playing a clean game because Jesus has paid for our fouls; as our manager, God is looking out for us all the time and giving us a good game plan to follow. This doesn’t mean we can do what we like now without getting in to trouble. It means God will help us see where we can do better, give us the strength to change and make us into the kind of people we’ve always wanted to be. And no matter what happens, we know Jesus has won the game. He has made us God’s own family and he will welcome us into his home when we die.
t x e N “To those who already have Jesus: you have made the best choice and are in the best team. Go ahead. Do not give up. The fight is great, but we can only win being on Jesus’ side.” Kaká
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f you want to think more about what it means to be a Christian and who Jesus is, including the evidence for his life, death and resurrection, Our Daily Bread Ministries would love to help. We believe that the best way to know God and understand his game plan is to read the Bible. We have lots of booklets, leaflets, DVDs and online resources to help you do this. Check us out at ourdailybread.org We also want to encourage you to make contact with a local church. There will be people there who can help answer your questions and tell you more about what it means to trust Jesus. 
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved. © 2018 by Our Daily Bread Ministries. All rights reserved. Printed in the United Kingdom
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