"Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play…it is war minus the shooting."

George Orwell

Grace not performance

When Nicodemus acknowledged that Jesus was a teacher from God, I don’t think he was expecting the answer that he got Verse 3 above). What Jesus was saying is that humans do not naturally know God or have access to the world above. Only Jesus can provide this access because he comes from God. We cannot become Christians through our own efforts or achievements. It has to be an act of God.

That is hard for humans because we like to think that we have earned what we have, through being talented or clever. In sport we have the cliché “you’re only as good as your last game/race/jump etc”. Sport operates on a performance driven basis. I think it is even more pronounced in track and field athletics where athletes are defined by their time, height or distance. Take Roger Bannister, from my city (Oxford), who is forever defined as the first man to run a mile in under 4 minutes. He went on to compete in the Olympics and become a successful doctor – but the first thing anyone thinks about is that 4 minute mile.

In the same way we define athletes by their performance. When a man runs 100 metres in under 10 seconds (or a woman and 11 seconds), they have moved into the big time.

Athletes, like Nicodemus, have to learn that it’s not by how fast/far you can run/jump/throw/kick that will get you into God’s kingdom. It is only by being “born again”. That means accepting that you are not good enough on your own and that you have to accept God’s forgiveness, recognizing that Jesus died for you. Having accepted God’s grace, you’re set free to enjoy competing (and life) without having to prove yourself.

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