I’m a fan of winning – and I’ll go the extra mile to help my team win. The question becomes – who do I see as my team?
John 4:19-26
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain,but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
Faced with a new group situation, I was determined that my solution to the team challenge was the best — and, it was. In the end, the team chose another less favorable solution from another team member who was also determined that their solution was the best. I’m sure you’ve seen this before – the “team” is functioning as a group of individuals working but not necessarily working together. The next day, we had a series of “low ropes” challenges. For any individual to win, the entire group had to win. As such, we were all working towards the same goal in one accord. It was powerful. Following this simple redefining of who was a part of my team, I was ready to work as hard as I had to work to make everyone successful. My team had grown – and we were in this together.
In the spiritual realm, how do you define your team? Is it your small group of friends, your Sunday School class, your church, or your denomination? What if we all defined our team like Jesus did to the woman at the well – as Team Spirit or all who are worshiping in the spirit? How would this change how we viewed our fellow Christians, our church members, the church across the street, and the church across the sea? If winning is at the Spirit level, then what commitments do I need to make to help Team Spirit? Similarly, what prejudices, hurts, and preferences do I leave behind?
I’m closing with these questions and not with answers. This will be my personal quest to be part of the winning team, Team Spirit. Dear God, please give me the wisdom to know and to understand what I need to do to be on your Team and not to see myself as a part of this world’s team. Help me focus my energies towards helping others join Team Spirit and to be ever listening for my role on the team. Amen.