Devotion 5.11.23

1 Peter 2

"20 But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. 21 To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

22 “He committed no sin,

    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”[a]

23 When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. 24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 25 For “you were like sheep going astray,”[b] but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls."

I love a great baseball or football game, but in order to love a great game of football or baseball, you have to love a great team who knows how to win. I refuse to follow a team by " assignment." Being born in Houston, the Astros have given us some great years of baseball, but many people forget the "bad years." Unlike the nation of Israel, I'm not wandering in the desert with a team simply because some people, deluded in their thinking, believe you stick with them no matter what.

But if I think baseball has had some lean years, I compare the Astros to the Oilers or now the Texans and think that pro football in Houston makes pro baseball look absolutely great. So when I started pulling for Kansas City, people started asking, "Who are you pulling for this year?" (These are the people who probably buy Fords or Chevys because dad and grandpa did.) "I'm pulling for a champion," is my response. Yes, in America, we have choice, and I choose not to follow or buy garbage. I can choose great movies to watch, great shows to view on TV or streaming, great stores or brands to buy, and I can choose great sports' teams. I'm not buying or following losers who are poorly run because of some clause, unwritten in sports, that says you stay with a team for life, not if they don't align with excellence or my values. 

That said, when do I abandon Jesus? Jesus, who gave me examples of great teachings, words to live by and to hear daily, and gave me a path to follow. Jesus who saved me from my wretched self. That Jesus, when do I choose to follow him or not follow him? When I read Peter's list, I realize I abandon him daily. Christ lived as an example in Peter's message, but I daily choose not to follow that example. The example I set for others is I'm no different from non-believers in this world. I live in and of this world with them, not apart from them by example.

Peter reminds us of the example Christ left for us to follow. I pray today and hopefully daily to set myself apart from this world, while remaining in this world, by following Christ's life as an example. When it's not popular to follow Christ or not convenient, I pray I choose Christ.