Sports Spectrum Daily Devotional: Friday, September 18

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” — 2 Corinthians 5:20

Ambassadors for Christ

“Do you consider yourself an ambassador?” asks our Bible study leader. “If not, why not?”

“Because I feel I have so little to offer,” remarks a rather quiet man. “At school I was always the last to be chosen for the baseball team. It made me feel like a leftover.”

“I know the feeling,” I say, remembering those awful moments when a competitive baseball captain showed his disgust in having to accept me despite the fact I’d be a detriment to his team.

“Oh, but God has no leftovers,” the leader reminds us, “just different avenues of service. God distributes gifts to each one individually as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11) but like in real life, sometimes a gift we receive may not be what we want at the time.”

All I wanted back then was to be a good ball player. But I was a good speller instead, usually picked first in spelling bees. Even though it didn’t merit as much acclaim as being a gifted ball player, later on in life I found myself pitching ideas to editors, catching assignments on the fly and achieving a pretty good batting average when it came to acceptances in the field of writing. God knew all along that being a good speller was one asset that would benefit me as a writing Christian.

God has so gifted you that wherever you are, you are His ambassador.

— Alma Barkman

If you would like to submit a reader devotional, please email all submissions to
devotionals@sportsspectrum.com.

Click here for all Sports Spectrum Daily Devotionals

>> Subscribe to Sports Spectrum Magazine for more devotionals and stories where sports and faith connect <<