Gospel Pass Completions

I grew up during the Packer Glory years (think Bart Starr, not Brett Favre), so I've a history of watching good, competitive football.

My favorite type of pass play is when the quarterback throws to a point downfield where the receiver has not yet arrived. For tense moments, it appears as though there is a missed route. The ball is heading toward empty field and the play will be wasted on an incomplete pass. Then at the last second, with the ball still hanging in the air, the receiver shifts direction. All of a sudden, their path and the path of the ball converge on the same point and...hurrah! Pass completed.

How did that happen?

When you watch the replay from an overhead angle, its fascinating to see how accurately the pass is directed to its destination, and how deftly timed is the arrival of the receiver. Beautiful.
If the quarterback has thrown the ball to the planned spot, then he has successfully done his job - whether the ball is caught or not. The quarterback can't run the route for the receiver. If the receiver is too slow to respond, or gets caught up in the other players, they may miss the catch. But it isn't a "bad throw," it is a "missed catch."
Still, the entire team shares the disappointment.

Evangelism - sharing the good news about Jesus - is like that.

We are aiming the word of God out into the world. We need to accurately and precisely deliver the goods as planned. The Bible is our playbook.
"God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, so that anyone who should believe in Him will have eternal life." John 3:16

People are heading toward the gospel - toward eternal salvation - from countless different directions. I've heard of many diverse routes downfield; so complicated, crowded and tragic that I can't even imagine. But the gospel arrives where it is intended, often just in time. If we've done our job.

A perfect spiral is spoken accurately, in God's words, just as he planned it - not with our wobble or flair in the throw.

We can't catch it for the other person - but we can make sure it lands Right in their hands.

What do you believe?