God's Coaching #271

God's Coaching #271

Imagine if you had to be perfect. Not mostly good. Not nearly great. But really and truly perfect. Blameless. Without blemish. In college football, that’s what a team usually has to be to win the national championship. With one teeny-weeny loss, the dreams of a national championship are over. Even if a team goes undefeated, it may not make it to the championship game. In 2009, Alabama and Texas earned the opportunity to play in the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) title game. Both teams sported 13–0 records and had the highest rankings in the complicated BCS system.

Boise State finished the 2009 season with a perfect 14–0, but they never had a chance to win the national championship. In the wacky world of college football, which doesn’t have play-offs, sometimes perfection doesn’t guarantee you a shot at the BCS trophy. Just ask Cincinnati and Texas Christian University, who also finished the regular season unbeaten but were denied invitations to the BCS championship game.

What’s the Score?

Often nothing less than perfection is required to reach college football’s promised land. And sometimes not even perfection will get you there. That’s a lot of pressure for teams to win games in September, October, and November.

Spiritually speaking, we are all in a similar predicament. To get to heaven and be in the presence of a holy God, we have to be perfect—without a single sin or blemish. Uh-oh. This is clearly a problem. Listen to what James 2:10 says: “The person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.” We are all sinners and lawbreakers, so we have no hope of reaching God’s standard. But wait—there is hope! In his mercy and grace, God knew we couldn’t be perfect on our own. So he provided perfection for us through his own sinless Son, Jesus Christ. If we put our faith in Jesus, he will forgive all our sins and make us perfect in God’s eyes. Clothed in Jesus’ perfection, we will win the greatest trophy imaginable—eternal life with God in heaven!

On the Ball

Read all of Romans 5 to understand more about how Jesus makes us perfect.

Coach’s Comment

Most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:7-8