Fall 2024

Sports Spectrum Daily Devotional - Monday, November 13, 2017

“You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature.” – Galatians 5:13

No Such Thing as Perfection

In football, there is no single perfect play. Coverage is blown, passes are dropped, blocks are missed, and penalties pile up. Football coaches know that perfection is unattainable. But does this keep them and the players from trying to be perfect? Absolutely not!

I’ve never heard a player say, “Well, because someone is bound to mess up on this play, then it might as well be my turn.” Or I’ve never heard a coach say, “Someone is likely to make a mistake if we run a play, so we won’t bother.” This would be absurd! Coaches and athletes give their best each on every play as they strive for perfection.

In living the Christian life, the same is true—no one person is perfect. We mess up. “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory” (Romans 3:23). But just as in football, this should never keep us from striving for perfection. According to Galatians, we are “called to be free,” but we cannot use the “no one is perfect” excuse to intentionally make mistakes and sin against God. We would then be like the coach or athlete who purposefully messes up his or her part of the play.

Even though it’s not quite obtainable on this earth, strive for perfection. Strive to be like Jesus!

DARREN ADAMS

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