Whose Side Are You On?

The excitement is in the air and the signs are everywhere: people sporting their favorite team’s jersey, heightened chatter in the news, at work, and at church, neighbors spying out the most coveted “man cave,” not to mention those dreadful lines at the supermarket as the supply of hot dogs, chips and dip vanish as if we’re preparing for an invasion.

Now, I must admit I’m not a sports fan. With the possible exception of Tim Tebow (thanks to all my Facebook friends), I couldn’t guess what team—or even what sport—a famous player belongs to.

Still, the taste of imminent victory is contagious. Why? Because we were created for victory! Just as sports fans memorialize their team legends among the various Sports’ Halls of Fame, the Bible offers Christians the famous “Hall of Faith” in chapter eleven of the book of Hebrews: an extensive list of God’s people, both men and women “who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” (Hebrews 11:33-34 ESV)

We were created for victory! As Super Bowl Sunday approaches, the smell of victory simply feeds on this God-given desire. Its power rests in the fact of the certainty of one thing: someone is going to win. During the months, weeks and hours leading up to the big game, fans of both teams are thoroughly convinced they are on the winning side. They bought the tee-shirt, found a friend with a big-screen TV, agreed that the loser pays for the pizza, all because they genuinely believe victory is imminent.

Yet, until that defining moment, no one knows for sure. Even when all appears lost, the fans of the trailing team never give up hope, praying for a miracle, often ‘til the very end. Victory: it’s what we were created for. Still, every year, many discover they put their faith in the wrong side.

One day each of us will face another defining moment, one concerning the most decisive battle of all—the battle for our eternal soul—and in that moment, the moment we enter eternity, we will discover whether or not we chose the winning side. Yet unlike the Super Bowl, we don’t know the day or the hour that moment will come. We have to choose now.

So which is the winning side? It’s what you see written on the banners waving among the fans at every football game as far back as anyone can remember, “John 3:16CloseJohn 3:16 "For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ” which is God’s promise: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

And yet when we look back at Jesus’ final moments, all appeared lost as He hung dying on the cross; many of His fans deserted Him, gave up hope, never expecting a miracle. But that’s precisely what happened. Jesus was raised from the dead and in that moment, He defeated our final enemy, death itself: “The last enemy to be destroyed is death…Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:26-54Close1 Corinthians 15:26-54 And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. For the Scriptures say, "God has put all things under his authority."* (Of course, when it says "all things are under his authority," that does not include God himself, who gave Christ his authority.) Then, when all things are under his authority, the Son will put himself under God's authority, so that God, who gave his Son authority over all things, will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere. If the dead will not be raised, what point is there in people being baptized for those who are dead? Why do it unless the dead will someday rise again? And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you. And what value was there in fighting wild beasts—those people of Ephesus*—if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, "Let's feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!"* Don't be fooled by those who say such things, for "bad company corrupts good character." Think carefully about what is right, and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don't know God at all. But someone may ask, "How will the dead be raised? What kind of bodies will they have?" What a foolish question! When you put a seed into the ground, it doesn't grow into a plant unless it dies first. And what you put in the ground is not the plant that will grow, but only a bare seed of wheat or whatever you are planting. Then God gives it the new body he wants it to have. A different plant grows from each kind of seed. Similarly there are different kinds of flesh—one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies. The sun has one kind of glory, while the moon and stars each have another kind. And even the stars differ from each other in their glory. It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. The Scriptures tell us, "The first man, Adam, became a living person."* But the last Adam—that is, Christ—is a life-giving Spirit. What comes first is the natural body, then the spiritual body comes later. Adam, the first man, was made from the dust of the earth, while Christ, the second man, came from heaven. Earthly people are like the earthly man, and heavenly people are like the heavenly man. Just as we are now like the earthly man, we will someday be like* the heavenly man. What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters, is that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die,* this Scripture will be fulfilled:"Death is swallowed up in victory.* OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) ESV, selected)

Don’t wait until your defining moment to know the outcome of your eternity. You can choose today to embrace the winner; choose Jesus, choose victory. It’s what you were created for! “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (I Corinthians 15:57 ESV).

Whose side are you on?

Copyright © 2012 Shadia Hrichi. Used with permission.