All in!

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. – Col 3:17

Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”  And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” – Matt 8:21-22

I like sports but am not a fan by any standard. This ignorance of what game is going on can be embarrassing at times. For example, I would never consider the sports season when dressing my baby before coming to the States. Culture shock is an interesting thing, while the culture can seem like the air you breath when it is what you know.

When I was at college studying English in China, one of the professors strongly recommended us to read the Bible and Shakespeare’s works to have more language sense and culture background. God definitely used her recommendation in my spiritual seeking of the Truth. However, she didn’t mention another very important element in the American culture, that is, … You guessed it, GAMES.

Being culturally sensitive, we do see sports and games as a great outreach tool in the U.S.. There is always some sort of game going on, football season, basketball season, baseball season, the seasons of the year. It makes a natural conversation starter, ice breaker. A lot of idioms and popular phrases are based on games, such as “home run”, “have a rain check”, “touch base”. Feel free to share more for my English improvement. As it is right now in the Cleveland area, it is definitely “ALL IN”!

This passion to support the local team or a favorite star is contagious. Commercials are everywhere and you can’t miss the message. People feel excited to be a part of a great event. No matter the outcome, they are “ALL IN”. We are created to follow, to have a purposeful mission, to be fulfilled in something bigger than ourselves. What if there is a greater game? An invincible star? A guaranteed victory? Am I in? Are you in?Are you all in? Not only in the spectators seat, but actually playing game? The game is on! Again, am I all in? Are you ALL IN?