Til the Whistle Blows

I admit it right up front: I am not a sports fan. I know very little about any of them--they all seem the same to me--and don't care to increase my knowledge. However, for some reason, this weekend I watched a little of the OU/Texas game with my husband. 

Rather than speculate as I usually do on what a football game would look like if played by counselors and therapists (There would be no injuries,everyone would take turns with the ball, and we'd all go home feeling good about ourselves and the other team!), I actually watched it for a little while.

As my husband gave his usual advice to the coaches, via our television screen, I decided to delight him by asking questions about the rules. I generally couldn't care less, but he loves to expound on it, so...

"That whistle means the play is over," he explained. "It tells the players they can stop now. See, every player is taught to keep pushing till the whistle blows. He can't know whether the ball is still in play until the ref calls it, so he just keeps giving it all he's got until he hears that whistle."

He went back to shouting at the TV and I returned to my usual contemplation. That last phrase echoed in my head: "He just keeps giving it all he's got until he hears the whistle."

Isn't that what the Christian life is all about, too? We're not called to be successful, only obedient. We can't know the final results of everything we do. We have no way of knowing whether we have fifty more years or fifty more seconds to play as hard as we can.

Only God can see the whole game. Only God has the power to call the plays, rule on our choices, and give us the best possible counsel until that moment the whistle blows. He doesn't expect us to always understand what's going on, just as that player down on the field can't know the bigger picture, either. 

Every player is trained not to give up too soon or he might miss the winning play. His failure to give it all he has could impact the lives of many more people as well. And we will never know until Heaven the great impact our decisions had and all God accomplished through us simply because we refused to give up or give less than our best.

What about you? When the whistle blows, signaling the end of your turn, don't you want to be giving it all you've got?


Oh, and by the way, OU won big! I'm pretending I care.


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