2 Corinthians 6:1
Working together, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
I have never been a team sport kind of guy. So it should come as no surprise that watching American Ninja Warrior is one of my guilty pleasures. I watched the first ever "celebrity" version of the show the other day. They had TV stars and some professional athletes running the course for charity. Each celebrity was teamed up with a Ninja Warrior competitor to train them and then talk them through the obstacles on the course. Then something unexpected happened. One of the celebrities, who was not very "sporty" and had clearly only agreed to do this because it was for charity, was so terrified of the obstacles that her Ninja Warrior competitor practically held her hand through the first obstacle. When the celebrity made it through she was astonished. Filled with new confidence she tackled the next obstacle on her own and to her surprise, completed that one too. With the help of her trainer and the encouragement of the crowd she made it all the way to the final obstacle, a 16 foot warped wall. Did I mention this celebrity was barely over 5 feet tall on a good day? There was no way she was going to make it up that wall. But by this time all the competitors were determined to see her at the top of this thing hitting the big red buzzer. They all came together, two Ninja Warriors bounded to the top of the wall. Then the other Ninja Warriors made a human ladder of themselves and had the celebrity climb over them to reach the two at the top, who pulled her up the wall to the finish.
That celebrity was terrified of the obstacles that were set before her. But with the help of the training she received and the community on Ninja Warriors she was able to overcome. I don't know about you but I am consistently worried about the obstacles that life puts in front of me. Following this opening statement to the Corinthians Paul gives them a laundry list of obstacles. But he is reminding them, and us, that if we receive the grace of God we can face those obstacles and overcome them with the help of our community of believers. Remember, Christianity is not a spectator sport. Neither is it a solo competition. How can we work together today to help someone reach that buzzer at the top of the wall?
