Life is no mere game–it’s much more serious. However, the Bible often likens the Christian life to certain games, so it is not out of place to use this phrase, “Get in the game” to challenge people to get involved, to start living rather just existing. Perhaps this article will encourage some dear saint to do just that:

“In Game Plan for Life, Os Guinness mentions this quote from a 90-year-old Winston Churchill: “Life has been a grand journey—well worth making once.”

Once. That’s all we get. No dry runs. No do-overs. This day you’re living now is not a dress rehearsal  or a practice lap. You’re on the stage. You’re in the game. Start playing.

What this kind of thinking does is rip the disguise off today, revealing it to be every bit as momentous as the first morning on a new job or the night before major surgery. There are things to be said. Today. There are people to take notice of. Today. There are ordinary decisions to take seriously. Today. As the Bible says, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

The newspaper commits a page or two each morning to dozens of death notices—guys who once supervised a work crew at the auto plant, who once coached boys’ baseball on Saturday afternoons, who once served on the school board or were once active in the —- club. Once.

All those one-time daily things that could be said of you in the paper—about your family, your work, your interests, your passions—are they getting your best today? Clock’s ticking down. Better get out there.

Pray this prayer: Dear God, I’ve been letting some things slide. I’ve been going whole weeks without my priorities being in balance. It’s time to get this right. Show me what that means and how to get there.” –From “Game Plan for Life”, Scripture reference changed to KJV.

For unto you it is given in behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake.-–Philippians 1:29

Rather than spare His most choice servants from suffering God actually insists that they do. Naturally we don’t always know why–we aren’t suppose to. We are to trust Him. It isn’t our duty to understand, but to stand. As an unknown writer said many years ago:

Stand up in the place where the dear Lord has put you, and there do your best. God gives us trial tests. He puts life before us as an antagonist face to face. Out of the buffeting of a serious conflict we are expected to grow strong. The tree that grows where tempests toss its boughs and bend its trunk often almost to breaking, is often more firmly rooted than the tree which grows in the sequestered valley where no storm ever brings stress or strain. The same is true of life. The grandest character is grown in hardship.

That is good advice. Trials aren’t just granted, allowed to come, they are “given”–as a gift from God. Although we do not yet see the final product of our problem, when we do we will praise Him. Meanwhile we are to simply stand firm in faith, knowing that our God makes no mistakes.

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak–base—despised–things which are not—That no flesh should glory in his presence.–1 Cor. 1:27-29

It is a foolish mistake to think that God only uses those with high IQ’s, great abilities, and good educations. The truth is that God takes great delight in using common, average, ordinary, uneducated people. And He wants to use you! Author David Platt wrote:

In Jesus’ simple command to ‘make disciples,’ he has invited every one of his followers to share the life of Christ with others in a sacrificial, intentional, global effort to multiply the gospel of Christ through others. He never intended to limit this invitation to the most effective communicators, the most brilliant organizers, or the most talented leaders and artists — all the allegedly right people that you and I are prone to exalt in the church. Instead, the Spirit of God has empowered every follower of Christ to accomplish the purpose of God for the glory of God in the world. This includes the so-called wrong people: those who are least effective, least brilliant, or least talented in the church.

Building the right church, then, is dependent on using all the wrong people.

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” Romans 10:4

Many folks are seriously confused about the most serious subject in the world. That’s not only sad, it is senseless—God’s Word could not be clearer about the subject. God isn’t trying to hide the truth from us. His Word is a revelation, not a riddle to be solved. Sincere people can understand the way to salvation if they seek it in the Scripture. The late Adrian Rogers said it well in this article:

The world thinks that sin is being bad and righteousness is being good. They say, “If I am just a good person, then I will go to heaven.” God seems like a Santa Claus, making a list and checking it twice, trying to find out if we are naughty or nice. That is just not so.

Righteousness lies only in Jesus Christ. He left heaven, came to earth, lived a perfect, righteous life. Then He suffered, bled, and died on a cross to atone for our sins. He was buried and raised to life by the power of God and has ascended into glory. His blood was applied to the mercy seat of God. That is righteousness.

Galatians 2:21 tells us, “If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Do you know what that means? If you could be saved by being good, then Calvary was a blunder. If there were some other way for you to be saved, God would not have let His Son die upon a cross.

Are you depending on your own good works to “get you into heaven”? What will enable you to stand before a holy God? “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;” Titus 3:5

—-he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciple’s feet–-. John 13:5

Serving is contrary to our old nature, resisted by the flesh, and not an easy lesson to learn. But, learn it we must if something of Jesus is to be seen in us. He tells us plainly that He came to serve –not to be served. And He lived out His purpose. He did not say one thing and do another. He served naturally, graciously, and cheerfully. He even did the work of the lowliest slave in washing the feet of others. He taught His followers to do the same.

J. R. Miller wrote,”We begin to be like Christ–only when we begin to love others enough to serve them, regardless of the lowliness of the particular service”. So, have you began to be like Christ?

Can you think of something you consider below your dignity to do, or something too menial to deserve your attention? You are nothing like Christ if your answer is “Yes”. If the King of kings performed the lowly service of washing the stinking feet of selfish men, should we think it beneath our dignity to do the same?

It was just a short time before Jesus would be crucified, and He knew it, yet He washed the feet of His followers. If you knew your death was just hours away would your last earthly activity be to wash someone’s feet? Jesus did — and He said,”For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you”(John 13:15). Think about it!