"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light."
Ephesians 5:8 (NIV)Prayer on the playing field has stirred controversy in professional sports. When a player drops to his knees after a big play or a victory to thank God, some object. One newspaper writer argued that anything to do with God should stay inside the church and called it "absolutely ridiculous" to talk to God anywhere else. Christians disagree with that thinking, but sometimes our behavior says otherwise. We set Sunday aside for worship and service, then act as though the rest of the week belongs to us.
Paul teaches something different. "You were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light" (Ephesians 5:8). That command is not limited to how we behave in church. Living for God is a twenty-four-hour, seven-day-a-week calling. Those who have put on Christ in baptism show compassion, kindness, humility, forgiveness, thankfulness, and love at all times, and they take a stand against wrong wherever they find it. As Christ's ambassadors, we represent Him at home, at work, and at play, not only in the pew. The Christian life is an all-the-time way of life, even on the playing field. Do the people around us know from how we act that Jesus lives in our hearts?
Lord, make my faith more than a Sunday habit. Help me to live as a child of light at home, at work, and at play, showing compassion, humility, and love in everything I do. Let those around me see that I belong to You every day of the week. Amen.