Love all the More

In one of my preseason talks as a character coach, I explained to the football team that the reason we put in the work to succeed, the reason we encourage and challenge one another, and the reason we hold each other accountable is for this: love.

You want to succeed at what you are doing. You want to know that the blood, sweat and tears are leading to something. But when we play and practice as a team, we need to do so out of love for one another.

In his first letter, the Apostle Peter wrote to dispersed Christians spread throughout the territory north of Israel. He was trying to encourage them to live as Jesus would have them live. In 1 Peter 1:22, Peter challenged them to truly love one another constantly. He used two different words for love: philadelphia, the love people have for one another or brotherly love, and agape, a sacrificial love. That love brought Jesus to earth to save us from our sins. So what Paul was saying was, “If you are showing love to others, really love them in a deeper way.”

You want to love your teammates. You go to battle against them in practice and with them in competition, but to have team unity, you need to love each other. Hear what Paul is saying in 1 Peter. When we love the people around us, let’s aim to love them as Jesus loved us and gave Himself up for us.