What’s it like to have crazy fun with Jesus? To be outrageous in our Devotion to God?
Look at Chicago Cubs baseball fans this October and you’ll see!
The Cubs haven’t won a World Series since 1908. It’s the longest drought in the history of professional sports. People say they’re cursed. But this year they’re getting close to winning it all!
I grew up cheering for the Chicago Cubs. My friend and I put on our Cubs’ hats and shirts. We took the train to Wrigley Field. We ate a dozen donuts outside the park while we waited for the gates to open. During warm ups he held my legs while I hung my body over the wall to get a baseball on the field.
We clapped and shouted for our team. We sang silly songs. We jumped with joy, high-fived, and hugged! All the way home on the train we talked about the game.
A Father & Daughter Trip to Remember
This summer my daughter Briana and I traveled 2,000 miles to Chicago to watch the Cubs play. We rented a room in “Wrigleyville”, two blocks from Wrigley Field.
We got caught up in Cubs-mania! Everybody was dressed like a Cub. Huge white W flags for “Cubs Win!” were hanging in windows everywhere. People kept talking about their beloved Cubbies.
I showed Briana where I sat with my dad watching games as a boy and told her stories.
It was fun even when the Cubs lost. Because it wasn’t about winning — we enjoyed being together as father and daughter cheering for our team. (She made my team her team too!)
You might say, “Being a sports fanatic is not a good example of discipleship to Christ. Fans are fickle consumers. They act silly.”
That’s true. But if our love for Jesus doesn’t have some adolescent craziness in it is it really love? Maybe it’s mostly a duty.
“Unless you change and become like little children,” Jesus taught us, “you will never enter the Kingdom of God” (Matthew 18:3).
When you really love someone you get skippy sometimes!
Chicagoans love their team! They wake up with excitement about the game today. They dress for their team. They make plans to get together with their friends and watch the game. They play ball and throw or bat like their favorite Cubs players. They have happy thoughts and high hopes for their Cubbies.
They cheer for their team in good and bad times. They’re not embarrassed to be Cubs’ followers when nobody else is. Their devotion doesn’t quit — even though none of them have ever seen the Cubs win a World Series.
Exuberant loyalty through thick and thin — that’s what we can be like for God!
That’s what the first disciples of Jesus were like. They felt like they were going with family and friends to enjoy a great banquet or a grand adventure! (Luke 14:16, Mark 1:17) They cheered for Jesus! (Matthew 7:28-29, MSG) They jumped out of trees to be his disciple! (Luke 19:1-10)
This is the Best Life!
We can be excited to follow Jesus too! It’s the “surpassing greatness” of life (Philippians 3:8). It’s “good news of great joy”! (Luke 2:10) Truly what happiness there is in following Jesus with all our hearts — especially when other people join us!
Here are some simple ways we can have some crazy fun following Jesus! (Links go to free devotionals on SoulShepherding.org.)
- Singing Psalms
- Warming our hearts for God with electric Bible passages
- Reading classic devotional books
- Breathing through empathy (giving and receiving)
- Appreciating Jesus’ smile — and smiling back!
If you want to experience more of “the best life” with Jesus you can read my book Your Best Life in Jesus’ Easy Yoke.
“We used Your Best Life in Jesus’ Easy Yoke to introduce apprenticeship to Jesus at our church. The content is rich with a vision of new life in the kingdom of the heavens! It gives a spiritual formation pattern for overcoming false narratives and daily stressors to step into the heavenly reality. The spiritual experiments and prayers have helped us integrate abiding in Christ into daily life.”
Leroy and Mildred Gerner
Care Pastors at King of Kings Church in Omaha, NE
