By: Elizabeth Haarberg

Gifts are for God’s Glory

You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this SoundCloud link.

Our children are involved in sports. Our son is a college football player and one of our daughters is a current state high school record holder in the 100m and 200m dash; one daughter has hung up her cleats for college, and the other is just getting started. We sit in a lot of seats at stadiums and read some of the comments on social media about our children, some good and some not so good. We like sports, but we impress on our children that sports are something you do, not who you are, not your identity. If you ask any of our children what the point of participating in sports is they will say to bring glory to God.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
1 Corinthians 10:31 New International Version

The goal of sports is to display the gifts that God gives to draw people so they can taste and see that God is good.

“Taste and see that the Lord is good;”
Psalm 34:8 New International Version

Our gifts are not for ourselves, otherwise they would be terminal, meaning they end with no external purpose. Our gifts are for others, to draw them to God, for eternal purposes.

Sports aren’t meant to be a distraction from God; instead they are to point to God, in the way the Holy Spirit is present in the athletes and their gifts. The issue becomes when athletes and teams are worshiped or made into an idol. The passion and emotion that many use to root on a team is meant for Jesus. I like sports, but I love Jesus. I pray continuously at college football games we attend for the Holy Spirit to enter the stadium, that every knee will bow in recognition of God being present and Jesus being alive.

“Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”
Genesis 28:16 New International Version

God is in the stadium, the gym, on the field and in the stands. Whether you are in a stadium or watching sports on television, pray for the Holy Spirit to land in and on every person.

Copyright Family of Christ Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado