Holding On

Those of us who watch a lot of sports programs on television have probably seen the St. Louis Cardinals’ “blanket” commercial. It begins with a man who wraps a red St. Louis Cardinals’ blanket around himself. As it turns out, the blanket is the one constant in his life as he grows up. As a child, he uses it as a cape when he runs up the steps, and he drapes it over his bed when he studies. It is on the seat when he learns to play the drums as a teenager, in the trunk when he moves out of the house, and around his girlfriend while they watch a movie. The commercial ends with the man wrapping the blanket around his child as these words come on the screen: “Without sports, what would we hold on to?”

For avid sports fans, the commercial seems to be suggesting that the one thing that we can count on is our sport or our team. As coaches, we try to help our team win. As fans, we cheer for our team like it’s a matter of life and death. But for anyone who has professed Jesus Christ as his or her Lord and Savior, there is something far more fulfilling than sports.

Paul told Timothy to hold on to eternal life, because with Jesus Christ, he had been called into the most satisfying relationship that he would ever experience. The same is true for us! We hold on to Jesus Himself, acknowledging that He is the source of eternal life and the hope during every stage of our lives. As Christian coaches, we can show our athletes and colleagues what we are holding on to by holding on first to Jesus and then wrapping His faithful love around our lives for others to witness!