I played rugby for Bangor Grammar School and it was incredible.
My old coach really pushed us hard in training. When we were doing drills and training he would encourage each other to push ourselves as hard as we would in a match. Tackle each other like you were tackling the other team. High aggression and high standards were required. If you can't do it in training to your own team, what makes you think you will be able to do it against the other team on a Saturday morning? That's what he used to ask.
As Christians we need to have this same attitude. When we are around other Christians we should be pushing each other hardest, keeping out standards high and learning off each other. If when you gather with your Christian friends and it seems the least likely thing to happen is to have a conversation about Christ- why do we assume we will be able to stand when our faith is tested against the enemy (The other team).
Rugby can be played by so many different types of people. You can be a 5 foot tall weed, but in rugby- You are a Scrum Half. So big man you are 18 stone and as round as a Pizza? You are Prop. 100 meters in 11 seconds? Away you out on the wing! Different people, different sizes, different weaknesses, different strengths- One team. Everyone has a role to play, and if they know their role and stick to it the team will succeed.
Lets not get up each others noses because of what we don't do or can't do. Thank God for what we can do. I can stand up and talk, you can organize the event. If you asked me to organize the event i wouldn't get it done. If I asked you to speak you wouldn't do it. We need each other to function. God created us to live in community and to use each others strengths for his glory. None more important than another, like bricks in a wall. Different people, different sizes, different weaknesses, different strengths- One kingdom. Everyone has a role to play.
As I'm sure you all know- Rugby is a contact sport. There is something incredible about playing a sport of it's nature. When playing you literally have to put your own well being on the line and get into a proper scrap with the other team. I loved my old school so much, and loved the guys I played with. This meant on a Saturday morning i would do absolutely anything to make sure we had the best opportunity to win. My school and my team mates meant too much to me to do otherwise. I risked injury and picked up some pretty bad ones. The great thing was there was fourteen other guys willing to do the same thing. It was proper comradeship.
As I'm sure you all know- Rugby is a contact sport. There is something incredible about playing a sport of it's nature. When playing you literally have to put your own well being on the line and get into a proper scrap with the other team. I loved my old school so much, and loved the guys I played with. This meant on a Saturday morning i would do absolutely anything to make sure we had the best opportunity to win. My school and my team mates meant too much to me to do otherwise. I risked injury and picked up some pretty bad ones. The great thing was there was fourteen other guys willing to do the same thing. It was proper comradeship.
The really sad thing is that i don't see the same sort of intense passion in my Christian friends, and a lot of the time myself. As Christians we have entered into a war much bigger than you will ever find on a Rugby pitch. Every day you get up you will be faced with challenges and tempted by things that you need to be able to get into a scrap with, and prevail over. How incredible would it be to know that all your mates were going into the same scrap with you? That they were willing to stick their neck out and actually get along side you. So that when things to go wrong and you do take a hit there is a true man of God standing next you, picking you up and getting ready to get stuck in again. There is no choice but to fight for it- because you know how what Jesus died for and it just means too much. We need to raise each other up in prayer and actually get into each others lives, be honest and know that with God we cannot be limited.
The final thing I needed to get used to at the Grammar was loosing.
We did it a lot, we were actually pretty good at it. Even when we looked in great form, we would probably blow it. This is fine to. It is okay to fail as long as you have put all you have into preventing it.
As Christians we were falter and stumble- and that is okay. Jesus has already died. Your sins are already forgiven. Just don't use this as an excuse. Fight with all you have, I believe God deserves that from us- but doesn't need it.
I hope you enjoyed this, I enjoyed writing it. I am a boy and the thought of Rugby has got the testosterone flowing, so I am pumped and ready to score a try for Jesus.
Very late so not going to re read for punctuation and spelling errors, sorry.
2 Timothy 4:7
'' I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith ''
We did it a lot, we were actually pretty good at it. Even when we looked in great form, we would probably blow it. This is fine to. It is okay to fail as long as you have put all you have into preventing it.
As Christians we were falter and stumble- and that is okay. Jesus has already died. Your sins are already forgiven. Just don't use this as an excuse. Fight with all you have, I believe God deserves that from us- but doesn't need it.
I hope you enjoyed this, I enjoyed writing it. I am a boy and the thought of Rugby has got the testosterone flowing, so I am pumped and ready to score a try for Jesus.
Very late so not going to re read for punctuation and spelling errors, sorry.
2 Timothy 4:7
'' I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith ''
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