Cheering On the Underdog!

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been following the U.S. Open Tennis Championship relatively closely.  I attended on the first day of the tournament, along with my son Nathaniel and my two brothers.  Since that day I’ve been following the matches on the U.S. Open app on my phone and watching as many matches as I can on TV.  Like any kind of sporting event, once you get into it, the drama of both the individual matches and the tournament as a whole captivate you.

One of the most intriguing parts of the tournament is seeing new players rising in the ranks and less ranked or unranked players defeating higher ranked players.  In fact, just this week there were two major upsets: Andrew Murray (2) was defeated by Kei Nishikori (6) and Sereena Williams (1) was defeated by Karolina Pliskova (10).  It is always amazing to see upsets such as these.  But, what is most interesting to me is the reaction of the crowd.  As much as the crowd loves to root for their “hometown” player or their favorite, it seems they love to cheer on the underdog—even if it’s just to see the matches extended a bit longer.  And as they do, the lesser-ranked player often gains confidence, stamina, and a will to win that propels them to win the match.  Such was the case with each of these matches this week. 

In the book of Hebrews we read these words:  “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us….” (Hebrews 12:1 – NIV)  As I read that verse I am reminded that there is a crowd in the stadium of heaven that is cheering us on as we seek to live out our faith in Jesus Christ.  And the truth is, they are cheering on the underdogs! 

If you think about it, we are all underdogs in this life of faith.  That is, none of us has the capability to live the way we ought to live and keep the faith on our own.  Left to ourselves, we would all lose; none of us would make it to heaven without the grace of God at work in our lives.  But a crowd of believers that has gone on before us is cheering us on! They are encouraging us to keep playing, to throw off whatever might hinder us, to stay focused on Jesus, and to continue to trust God.  Yes, they are cheering on the underdogs knowing that, like them, we too can win the prize! And in fact, I tend to believe that Jesus himself is leading the cheer!

Today if you are feeling a bit down about your ability—or lack thereof— to live this life of faith, if you are feeling like an underdog, know that there is a crowd in heaven that is behind you, cheering you on!

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris