Consider these stats about an average NFL game. It takes over 3 hours to watch the game. The game clock, and any true game play will last for only 1 hour (4, 15 minute quarters). The actual time where real football is being played (this is the time between the snap and the whistle at the end of the play is 11 minutes. That is 11 minutes total for the entire game. Each play lasts an average of 4 seconds. This means, on average, there are 165 plays in the game. But this counts punts, kick offs, field goals, extra points, offense and defense.
We sit for over 3 hours to see 11 minutes of payoff. The rest is commercials (roughly 100 of those), instant replays, huddling, snap counts (thank Peyton Manning for that… OMAHA!), injuries, and penalty discussions/instant replays.
So the question is… who would do this? Who would trade 3 hours of their lives for 11 minutes? Well, anyone who thought the payoff was worth it, of course. Consider God’s plan for the salvation of humanity. Who would give their Son to be tortured and killed to save the souls of a bunch of sinners? I think it stands to reason the answer is the same… because He thought the payoff was worth it.
Consider how much you matter to God. You were worth it.
That said, perhaps when we catch the next game, we spend some of that spare time giving back to Him. Pray. Reflect. Share. History is made in 4 seconds. It’s why we watch. The first play gets stuffed. The next play goes out of bounds. And then… amazing happens. So goes our walk with God. 4 seconds. A kind word. A gentle gesture. Giving God credit. Invitations to church, or maybe just lunch. You will be told no. You may be laughed at. You will be told no again. But then… a miracle happens. We only have so many opportunities to share how much we matter to God. How much He loves us. How much He has done.
When the game is over and the sponsors are counting their piles of ad revenue, nothing we do matters after that. 11 minutes, 4 seconds at a time. How can we not give it our best shot?
My Companion 