In the ministry of Eternity Sports, we talk a lot about “playing for eternity,” but what does that mean? Playing for eternity means to play with a purpose that goes beyond the scoreboard, the stats, and the recognition. It means to play with a passion that reflects the love of God and the glory of His name throughout your game. It means to put Christ first in all aspects of your game.
“We love because He first loved us.”
1 John 4:19
Recieve
So, how do we play with Christ being number-one in our life? How do we make Him our ultimate goal, our supreme treasure, and our greatest delight? How do we honor Him with our talents, our time, and our testimony?
The first step is to receive the truth of the Gospel. The Gospel is the good news that God saves sinners through His Son Jesus Christ. We are all sinners who have fallen short of God’s glory and deserve His wrath (Romans 3:23, 6:23). But God, in His grace and mercy, sent His Son to die for our sins and rise again from the dead—defeating sin and death on our behalf (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). He offers us forgiveness and eternal life as a free gift, if we repent of our sins and trust in Him as our Lord and Savior (John 3:16, Acts 16:31).
Grow
The second step is to grow in the knowledge of Christ. As we receive the Gospel, we also receive the Holy Spirit, who seals us, guides us, and empowers us to live for God (Ephesians 1:13-14, John 16:13, Acts 1:8). He helps us to understand the Word of God, which is the truth that sets us free (John 8:31-32, 2 Timothy 3:16-17). He helps us to pray, to worship, and to fellowship with other believers, who are our brothers and sisters in Christ (Romans 8:26-27, John 4:23-24, Hebrews 10:24-25). He helps us to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Show
The third step is to show the love of Christ. As we grow in the knowledge of Christ, we also grow in the likeness of Christ, who is the perfect example of love (1 John 4:19). He loved us so much that He gave His life for us, and He calls us to love one another as He loved us (John 15:12-13, 1 John 3:16). He also commands us to love our enemies, to bless those
As we play for eternity, we play with Christ as the number-one priority of our life. We play with the truth of the Gospel in our hearts, the knowledge of Christ in our minds, and the love of Christ in our actions. We play with a joy that is unspeakable, a peace that surpasses understanding, and a hope that is unshakable. We play for the audience of One, who is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
He is worthy of our praise, our worship, and our devotion. He is worthy of our best, our all, and our everything—on and off the field or court.
