Most guys’ favorite sports movie is Field of Dreams. The popular sports fantasy film tells the story of a farmer who hears a voice in his cornfield say, “If you build it, he will come.” He receives a vision and builds a baseball field, hoping his father’s favorite major leaguer, Shoeless Joe Jackson, will return. This would give him another chance to play the game he was banned from after the 1919 Black Sox scandal.

What guy can’t relate to the final scene when Shoeless Joe Jackson tells Ray Kinsella, played by Kevin Costner, “If you build it, he will come.” Then he glances toward the catcher near home plate, who removes his chest protector and mask, revealing the player’s identity. Ray recognizes the player as his father, a young man before Ray was born. Because of a fight with his father as a rebellious teenager, Ray left home, said something terrible to his dad, and never spoke to him again before his dad’s death. Now, they are face to face, understanding the situation but saying very little. When the father turns to leave the field, the son, choking back tears, says, “Dad . . . wanna play catch?” His dad responds, “Yes, I’d like that very much.” They begin to play catch as the movie closes. It’s a great ending, but it’s got the end backward if it was meant to be a parable about God’s love. The Bible teaches that it is God the Father who asks the rebellious son, “Wanna play catch?” God initiated our salvation because of His love for us.

1 John 4 – Divine Pursuit

John begins chapter 4 by discussing true and false spirits, then appeals for believers to love one another. Christians should love one another because God first loved them. John uses the word “love” dozens of times in 1 John. He speaks of three kinds of love: God’s love for us, our love for God, and our love for one another. In chapter 2, John presents love as evidence of our fellowship with God. He follows in chapter 3 with evidence of our sonship with God. Finally, in chapter 4, he traces love to its source: “God is Love” (1 John 4:7, 8).

The Kingdom Coach and Athlete love their coaches and teammates because God first loved them. By being born again, they can now love as Christ does by meeting others’ needs.

Bible Memory Verse – “They are from the world; therefore, they speak as from the world, and the world hears them.” 1 John 4:5 (LSB)

Click HERE for the Kingdom Sports Minute: He First Loved Us

Our featured book this week is Lessons From the Sidelines by Beth Walker. Through her personal stories and interviews with other women, Beth Walker shows that it’s possible for wives to pursue their own callings even as they support their husbands’ careers and ministries. Whether you’re a coach’s wife, the wife of a professional athlete, a pastor’s wife, the wife of a CEO, a military wife, or a college administrator’s wife, you have unique challenges to navigate that differ from the struggles of other women.

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