Hoping for a turnaround to their dismal season start, I recently watched a Broncos football game. God sometimes shows me truth in unexpected places. In one particular play, I saw grace illustrated in football.
When the quarterback throws the ball and his intended receiver catches it, that is not grace. That’s more like works. These preplanned maneuvers, straight from the playbook, are rehearsed over and over again in practice. Each player executes the correct moves, attaining specific objectives. As long as everyone does their positional “work” and overcomes obstacles, together they achieve the play‘s desired outcome. The Kansas City Chiefs demonstrated this countless times during that particular game, to the Broncos’ dismay.
In football, the more each player does the right thing, the more likely a win. Almost every game is won by “works.”
But every now and then something unexpected happens. At one point in this game, the Broncos’ quarterback threw the ball, but an opposing linebacker jumped up and tipped it with his fingers, blocking the intended reception. But that wasn’t the end. The Chiefs’ safety caught the errant football and hung onto it, resulting in an interception. The ball could have fallen to the ground, but that catch was pure grace! No one planned it, but the safety realized he was being given a gift in the football world.
God has grace gifts that He wants us to catch as well. 2 Corinthians 9:8 explains His game plan. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. He has all sorts of good deeds—loving acts—for us to “complete” in life, but we’ve got to be open and aware enough to “catch” those ideas and follow through on them.
Good deeds come in many forms—large or small, obvious and unexpected. Ephesians 2:10 says we were actually created for good works. These deeds are not reserved for super saints or the clergy. God may ask us to give when we don’t feel like it, to show an act of kindness to an “enemy,” or to let go of something we hold dear in order to bless someone else. When a friend took us out to dinner the other night, we saw him generously tip our server in cash, telling him, “This is for you.” The waiter’s eyes got big, and he offered profuse thanks. After he left our friend remarked, “I love doing that!” Just as any player is physically capable of catching the football, any believer can recognize the opportunity to do a good deed.
1 Timothy 6:17-18 encourages those who are rich in this world to be rich in good deeds—generous and willing to share. Anyone who owns a computer or a car is rich compared to the vast majority of the world’s population. And it’s easy for us to put our trust in wealth. Instead, we should always be looking for opportunities to demonstrate generosity.
God offers us grace so that we might receive it and pass it on to others. Let’s be ready to follow through on His ideas and spread His grace everywhere we go.
Wow, finding God’s purposes in a Bronco’s game? That takes real Holy Spirit inspiration! (OK, I’m being bad. I should be more forgiving and offer mercy for the Bronco’s terrible “works”….). But certainly if even the Broncos can receive God’s blessings, how much more should I be open to the grace that the Lord pours out on me!