In the movie Miracle, Herb Brooks, played by Kurt Russell, is selected to coach the United States Olympic Hockey Team. The hockey committee’s only request is that the United States not be embarrassed on the ice. As Brooks’ team arrives at the training facility, he can see that he has his hands full. The team is made up of various collegiate players from rival schools who allow their rivalries to get in the way of their performance. Coach Brooks understands that in order for his team to be successful on the ice, they must come together as one. Each day during practice Brooks asks a player, “Who do you play for?” Inevitably, every day each young man responds the same way: “I play for (their college or university)”. This question is repeated each day, until finally, one young man understands what Brooks wants his team to realize. When asked the question, “Who do you play for?” the young man responds, “I play for The United States of America.”
You see, Coach Herb Brooks wanted his players to realize they were playing for something more than the colleges named on their jerseys. He wanted them to realize they were playing for their country. Until the players realized this, they would never come together on the ice and be successful.
Each time I watch the movie Miracle, I think about that very question. Who do I play for or represent? No, I don’t play for a certain sports team like the guys on the hockey team, but in the game of life who am I playing for? Who is it that I represent? Do I represent my family? My company? My home congregation of the Lord’s church? The answer to each of these questions is yes. I do represent my family, my company and my congregation. However, just like the players on the hockey team, I represent more than a name or group. I represent the creator of all things, God!
The apostle Paul wrote, “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Col. 3:17). According to Paul, every word we say and every deed we do should be done for the glory of God. Literally, we are to be a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ in every thing.
When we go to work, we represent God (Col. 3:23). When we go to the store, we represent God. When we attend or participate in a sporting event, we represent God. “In whatever we do,” we always represent God; therefore, we must be sure our representation is one becoming of a child of God. Jesus said, “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16). As children of God, when people see us they should see us representing something far greater than any name or congregation. They should see us representing our Father in Heaven.
The 1980 United States Hockey team came together and did something only one other group of American Hockey players (1960) has ever done. They won the Gold medal. Those young men, from various rival schools, made a nation proud by the way they represented their country. Likewise, when we represent God in a worthy manner in our daily lives, He receives the glory and we make Him proud to call us His children. Do you represent God in a way that makes Him proud?
Now that’s Something to Think About!
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