A Better Ref

I'm amazed by all of the commentary surround the NFL referee issue. Not that the comments and concerns are inappropriate nor worth discussing, but that it reveals a deep need in the human heart that the rules, whether in football or life, be followed and administer fairly. The collective "outrage", while maybe a little over the top, springs from and reveals that even the least theological among us still carry the image of God within us.

Wouldn't it be great if there were a better ref? One who never blew a call? One who made sure each player played within the boundaries of the game? Even better, wouldn't it be great if there was a ref who could, by his very presence, make each player want to play within the rules and execute each play to the best of their ability.

Of course life is different than football, and we can do "all the right things" and still face failure, temptation, illness and even death. To face these things, and so many other things, we need more than a ref. We need a friend. We need a father. We need a protector. We need an advocate. We need a deliverer. We need an adviser.

And when we "commit a penalty" and the ref "throws the flag" we need someone to stand in our place. Because, in life, its not just a 10 yard penalty. It will cost us the game. It will cost us the season. It will cost us our lives.

The good news is that the Better Ref has come. Jesus is that ref. He has lived. He has died. He is risen. And He is the ref over the whole world. And while we may not see his calls as being right and good, in reality they are. And He is so much more than just a ref. He offers us new life. He delivers us from both the affects of our penalties, but also from the power that causes us to want to commit them. He can change us from the inside so that we want to and are able to play the game within the rules that have been established from the beginning. And, best of all. He's already won the Super Bowl.

I just want to pray, if you've read this far, that you will allow Jesus to be for you everything He promises to be. He has made this promise, which can be yours if you entrust your life to Him.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. -- Mat 11:28

To God Alone be the Glory