“So, because you are lukewarm — neither hot nor cold — I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” — Revelation 3:16

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It was the last day of a local church basketball camp. I came early to watch my boys play in their respective championship games. I got there a little too early. Before the championship games started, the kids were going to play a few rounds of dodgeball, and I sat watching in the stands.

As I watched, I noticed there were three different strategies the kids were using. First, there were the kids who were all in. They were scrambling for loose balls and launching at their opponents all while being mindful of the opposing team trying to take them down.

The second group of players technically was in the game, but they were helping their team about as much as I was sitting on the bleachers. Their strategy was just to hide behind other kids. Maybe, if it didn’t require too much risk or effort, they’d launch a ball. They really were more of an obstacle to their team.

The last group was even less in the game. They stood so far from the line of fire that there was little chance of them getting hit. There was also little chance of them actually contributing, but at least they weren’t in the way of those really playing to win.

It made me think about the life of faith and the verse above, Revelation 3:16. I couldn’t help but think of another important 3:16 verse in the Bible: John 3:16. If we aren’t careful, we can live with a mindset that we were saved to sit on the sidelines — but that isn’t the case. We were called to a life that requires us to be all in, making the most of every opportunity (Ephesians 5:16). If we are truly pursuing Christ, we will have to take some hard knocks. Paul reminded Timothy of this in 2 Timothy 3:12: “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

God hasn’t called us to a half-hearted Christianity. We were called to serve Him with our whole heart. We will get tired, winded, pegged — sometimes we will even think we are out of commission. But we must remember we were called to the Great Commission.

Back to the dodgeball game, the version the kids played was one I hadn’t heard of before; it was called Doctor Dodgeball. One player on each team was “the doctor.” If someone got hit, they would sit on the floor, but as soon as the doctor on their team touched them, they were back in the game. If the doctor on a team got hit, that team’s chances of winning dropped dramatically as the players were permanently out and the team dwindled.

Now that I think of it, there was one last strategy, but I only saw one kid use it. He voluntarily stood in front of the doctor on his team, working to deflect anything that might take out the doctor. The good news was that if something hit him, the doctor was right behind him to keep him in the game. That’s encouraging to me.

We are called to let Christ live His life in and through us, and as we do, we can rest in the fact that He has our back. But He doesn’t hide behind us; He is our full and perfect refuge, the One in which we can hide. Actually, only Christ could have our back and be our shield at the same time.

It reminds me of another wonderful truth from Scripture, Jude 1:24-25: “To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”

— Rachel Gibbons

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