Most guy’s 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 that says, “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 during 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 that reveals the player’s identity. Ray recognizes that the player is his father as 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 death. Now, he and his father 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 starts to close. 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 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 – They Shall Know Us By Our Love

John begins chapter 4 by discussing true and false spirits before an appeal for believers to love one another. Christians should love one another because God first loved them. John used the word “love” dozens of times in 1 John. He speaks about three kinds of love: God’s love for us, our love for God, and our love for one another. In chapter 2, John teaches love as evidence for our fellowship with God. He follows in Chapter 3 with evidence of our sonship with God. Finally, in chapter 4, he traces the 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 like Christ by meeting the needs of others.